INDIAN  BASKETRY, 

AND 

How  TO  MAKE  INDIAN  AND  OTHER  BASKETS. 


WITH  NEARLY  600  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FOURTH    EDITION 

REVISED    AND    ENLARGED 

By  GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES 

AUTHOR   OF 

IN  AND  AROUND  THE  GRAND  CANYON,"  "THE  INDIANS  OF  THE  PAINTED 

DESERT  REGION,"  "  PRACTICAL  BASKET  MAKING,"  "  IN  AND  OUT  OF  THE 

OLD    MISSIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA,"    "THE   STORY    OF    SCRAGGLES," 

"THE   WONDERS    OF   THE   COLORADO    DESERT,"    "WHAT  THE 

WHITE  RACE  MAY  LEARN  FROM  THE  INDIAN,"  "TRAVELER'S 

HAND     BOOK     TO     SOUTHERN      CALIFORNIA,"      "THE 

GUIDING  LIGHT,"  "THROUGH  RAMONA'S  COUNTRY," 

"  LIVING   THE    RADIANT^  LIFE,"K  ETC.,    ETC. 


HENRY    MALKA.N, 

42    Broadway, 

New  York. 

1909. 


DECORATIVE  ART 


THESE  PAGES  ARE  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  TO 

OTIS  T.  MASON 

OF    THE    SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION, 
WHOSE  CONSCIENTIOUS  LABORS  REVEAL  HOW  LARGE 

A  DEBT  THE  WORLD 
OWES  TO  ABORIGINAL  WOMAN. 


JZ 


INDIAN   BASKETRY 

AND 

HOW  TO  MAKE  INDIAN  AND  OTHER 
BASKETS. 


M856406 


JLi 


A  COLLECTION  OF  FINE   POM  A   BASKETS. 


CONTENTS. 

Preface 

I.  Introduction 1 1 

I 1.  Basketry,  the  Mother  of   Pottery 17 

III.  Basketry    in    Indian    Legend 22 

IV.  Basketry  in  Indian  Ceremonial 33 

V.  Basket    Making    People 50 

VI.  Materials  Used  in  Indian  Basketry 72 

VII.  Colors  in  Indian  Basketry 88 

V  Ii  I.     Weaves  or   Stitches   of   Indian   Basketry 96 

IX.  Basket  Forms  and  Designs;   Their  Origin  and  Relation  to  Art 119 

X.  Some   Uses  of  Indian    Baskets 145 

X  I.     Various    Indian    Baskets 169 

XII.  Symbolism   of    Indian    Basketry 187 

(  a )  Symbolism  in  Basketry  Forms 191 

Development  of  Symbolism  in  Basket  Designs 194 

Imitation  and  Conventionalization 197 

The  Birth  and  Development  of  Geometrical  Designs 201 

Diverse  Meanings  of  Designs 206 

(  f )      Designs  of  Animal    Origin    208 

(g)  Designs  of  Vegetable  Origin  212 

Designs  of  Xatural  Origin  • 213 

Designs  of  Artifact  Origin  215 

( j  )      Baskets    With   Mixed    Designs 216 

XIII.  The  Poetry  of   Indian   Basketry 218 

XIV.  Baskets   to  be   Prized 224 

XV.  The  Decadence  of  the  Art 226 

XVI.  How  the  Art  may  be   Preserved 229 

XVII.  Hints  to  the   Collector '. 230 

XVIII.  Bibliography  of   Indian    Basketry 232 

Appendix    234 

Index    267 

How  to  Make  Indian  and  Other  Baskets 273 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Fig.                                                                     Page.  Fig.  Page 

Front.      Mono     Baskets     and     Woman  15.  Baskets,    Coll.    of  W.   D.   Campbell.. 21 

with     Carrying     Basket 4  16      Indian    Baby    Basket 22 

1.  Havasupai     With     Kathak 12  17.     Cradle     of    Nevada     Utes 22 

2.  A    Poma   Basket   Maker y  18.19-     Hopi    Basket   and    Weave 24 

3.  Miss    Kate    Mabley's.   Collection..  11  20.     paiuti    Water    Bottle 24 

4.  S.    California    Baskets 14  21.     Carrying  Basket   of  Hopis 25 

5.  Choctaw  Baskets  of   Cane 15  22.     Hopi     Basket     of    Yucca 26 

6.  Havasupai    Roasting   Tray 17  23.     Apache     Basket     Bottle 28 

1.     Base-mould    for    Pottery 17  24.     Poma    Conical    Basket 28 

8-9.     Pottery     Forms 18  25.     Havasupai    Making    Basket 29 

10'     Otrefynal    Method    of   Makin&    Pot-  lg  26.     Poma    Pounding    Acorns 30 

11.  Base-mould"  f  or  "coiled"  Pottery.'.'  19  27-  Sacred   Baskets  of  Navahoes,   etc.  32 

12.  First  Form   of  Vessel    19  28.  Yokut  Baskets    (Plimpton   Coll.)..  32 

13.  Secondary   Form    of   Vessel 20  29.     Navaho     Sacred     Basket 34 

14.  Finisned    Vessel 20  30.  Circle   of   Meal..  35 


Fig.  Page. 

31.  Antelope    Altar    38 

32.  Do.,    Showing   Kohonino    Basket..  39 

33.  Praying    at    Shrine 39 

34.  Hopi    Basket    (Spider    Web) 40 

35.  Hopi    Sacred    Plague 40 

36.  Sprinkling  Snakes  With  Meal 41 

37.  Basket    Throwers    43 

38.  Priest    Handing    Offerings 43 

39.  Dance    of    Basket   Bearers 45 

40.  Struggle    for    Baskets 45 

41.  Yolo   Ceremonial   Basket 46 

42.  Saboba    Basket   Maker 49 

43.  Haida    Weaver 51 

44.  Bottle-neck     Basket 48 

45-46.  Alaska  Baskets  (Plimpton  Coll.)  52 

47.  Washington    Weaver 54 

48.  Mono  Weaver   54 

49.  Washington    Weaver     55 

50.  Ornamental     Poma     Baskets 56 

51.  Fine    Poma    Basket 56 

52.  Yokut    Basket    (Plimpton    Coll.)..  58 

53.  Poma  Basket  (Plimpton  Coll.) 58 

54.  Cahulla    Basket    Maker 60 

55.  Merced     Nolasquez     60 

56.  Dat-so-la-lee     (Washoe) 62 

57.  Baskets     (Burnell    Coll.) 64 

58.  Yokut    Baskets    (McLeod    Coll.)..  64 

59.  Oraibi    Basket   Maker 65 

60.  Hopi    Yucca    Basket 65 

61.  Hopi    Sacred    Plaque 65 

62.  Wallapai    Basket    Maker 66 

63.  Chemehuevi     Basket 66 

64.  Menominis    Weaving    Mat 68 

65.  Elm    Splints    67 

66.  Club    or    Mallet    67 

67.  Menomini     Kuife     69 

68.  Coil    of    Splints 69 

69.  Finished    Menomini    Basket 67 

69a.     Yokut    Girl   Weavers 70 

70.  Cahuillas     Collecting     Material....  71 

71.  Slipper  Form   of   Baby   Cradle....  70 

72.  Cahuilla    Coiled    Baskets,    etc 73 

73.  Fine    California    Baskets 74 

74.  Portion   of    the    Plimpton    Coll 75 

75.  Apache  and   Pima   Baskets 76 

76-77.     Poma  Baskets  (Plimpton  Coll.)  78 

78.  Klamath  Tray,  etc 77 

79.  Yokut  and  Poma  Baskets 

(Campbeil   Coll.) 80 

80.  Yokut  Dance  and   Other   Baskets  82 

81.  Hopi   and    Havasupai    Baskets 83 

82.  Apache   and    Pima   Bowls,    etc 84 

83-84.     Bone    Awls     86 

85.  Oraibi    Yucca    Basket 87 

86.  Yokut    Basket     92 

87.  Yokut    Basket    (Plimpton    Coll.)..  92 
R8.     Pshu   Kan,    or   Fish   Net 94 

89.  Bam-tush    Weave 95 

90.  Bam-tush   Granary  and 

Shi-Bu   Tray 97 

91.  North    Coast   Basket 97 

92.  Shu-Set  and   Ti  Weaves 98 

93.  Poma    Basket    Materials 99 

94.  Baskets    in    Wilcomb    Collection..  100 

95.  Shi-Bu  Weaves    100 


Fig.  Page. 

96.  Poma   Shi-Bu    101 

97.  Poma    Tsai   and    Bam-tsu-wu. . . .  102 
98-102.  Poma    Ornamental    Shibu 103 

103.  Yokut,  Poma  and 

Eel  River  Baskets..  104 

104.  Pauma  Granary,   etc 105 

105.  Apache    Basket    (Plimpton    Coll.)  106 

106.  Apache  Water  Bottle 106^ 

107.  Hopi   Weaver    t.  108 

108.  Kuch-ye-amp-si,  Hopi  Weaver..  109 

109.  Inch   Weave    of   Honi   Tray 110 

110.  Basket   and    Lid   from   Egypt 111^ 

111.  Square   Inch   of   Fig.    110 110- 

112.  Unornamented  Oraibi  Plaque 112 

113.  One  Inch  of   Fig.    ILi 112 

114.  Oraibi  Sacred  Meal  Tray 113 

115.  Hopi    Carrying    Basket 114 

117.  Zuni   Carrying   Basket    115 

118.  Seminole-  Basket    115 

119.  Washoe    Basket     116 

120.  Pima  Basket  (Plimpton  Coll.) 117 

121.  California    Basket    (do) 117 

122.  So'n  Cal.   Basket,  Used  as  Drum  118 
122a.     Bottle-Neck    Basket.       (McLeod 

Collection)    118 

123.  Southern    California    Baskets 119 

124.  Pueblo    Sleeping    Mat 120 

125.  Havasupai    Water    Bottle 120 

126.  Yakima   Basket    121 

127-8-9.     Simple  Weaves  (one  Color)..  122 

130.  Herring    Bone    Effect 123 

131.  Elaboration,  Herring-  Bone  Effect  123 

132.  Peruvian  Work  Basket 124 

133.  Simple    Twined    Weave 123 

134.  Ciallam    Carrying   Basket 125 

135-6-7.     Various     Surface     Effects 126 

138.  Open   Work   Tray    (Klamath) 127 

139.  Klamath   Carrying   Basket 127 

140.  Simple    Reticulated    Weave 128 

141.  Simple    Variations    128 

142.  Further   Variation    128 

143.  Apache  Basket  With   Pendants..  129 

144.  Cal.    Basket  With  Pendants 129 

145-6.     Use    of    Colored    Strands 130 

147.  Isolated    Figures    130 

148.  Alternations  of  Fillets    131 

149.  Conventional  Human  Figures....  131 

150.  Base    of    Coiled   Basket 132 

151.  Coiled    Northwest    Basket 132 

152.  Yokut  Basket   133 

153.  Pima  Basket   133 

154.  Pima   Coiled   Basket 134 

155.  McCloud     Carrying    Basket 136 

156.  Apache    Coiled    Basket 135 

157.  Oraibi   Sacred  Tray 136 

158.  Oraibi  Do    137 

159.  Light    Fillets    Wrapped 138 

160.  Klamath   Work    138 

161-2.     Ornamental  California  Baskets  139 

163.  Conventional    Figures 140 

164.  Figures    on    Yokut   Basket 139 

165.  Human  Figure   on   Oraibi  Tray..  140 

166.  Figure  of  Bird  on  Hopi  Tray 142 

167.  Do.    on    Oraibi    Tray 142 

167a.     Yokut    Woman    Carrying    Load 

of   Fruit    143 


Fig.  Page.  Fig. 

168.  Tule    Weaver    Using    Sifter 144  275. 

169.  Granaries   of   S.    Cal.   Indians 144  276- 

170.  Cahuilla,    Saboba,   etc.,   Baskets..  145  279- 

171.  Primitive    Fish     Weir i46  281- 

172.  Basket  of  Thompson  Indians 147  284. 

1V3.     Poma    With    Wood    BasKet 148  2X0- 

174.  Zuni    Toy    Cradle    and    Doll 14d  287. 

175.  Poma  Mother  With  Child 150  288. 

176.  Poma   Woman   With  289. 

Carrying  Basket 150  2i?0. 

177-8-9.     Hupa    Cradle    Basket 151  291. 

180-1.     Pyramid  Lake  Ute  Cradle 151  292. 

182-3-4.     Hopi    Wicker   Cradles    152  293- 

185-6-7.     Siamese  Carrying  Basket 153  295. 

lss-9.     Carrying  Basket   of  Arikarees.  li>3 

190-1-2.     Choctaw  Carrying  Basket 154  296. 

193-4-5.     Conical    Carrying   Basket 154  297. 

196-7.     McCloud     Do 155  298. 

198.  Poma   Carrying   Wood    156  299. 

199.  Hupa  Forehead   Pad 155  300. 

200-1-2.  Paiuti  Seed  Basket  and  Wand  156  301. 

203.  Washoe   Water   Bottle    157  302. 

204.  Washoe   Food   Basket 157  303. 

205-6.     Carrying   Islets    158  304. 

207-8.     Apache    Carrying    Basket 157  305. 

209-10.     Hopi   or  Zuni    Carrying   Crate  159  306. 

211-12.     Diegeno    Carrying    Basket 159  307. 

213-14.     Mohave  Carrying  Basket 160  308. 

215.  Congo    Carrying    Basket 161  309. 

216.  Zuni   Basket   Water   Bottle 161  310. 

217.  Navaho    Do.     160  311. 

218.  Havasupai   Boiling-   Baskets 162  312. 

219-20-21.     Manufacture     of    Spirally  313. 

Coiled  Weaves  162  314. 

222.  Method  of  Making  Havasupai  315. 

Water  Bottles  163  316. 

223-4.  Pueblo  Carrying  Mats 163  317. 

225.  Using  Do 163  318. 

226.  Hopi    House    Interior    164  319. 

227.  Saucer  Shaped  Basket   165  320. 

228.  Ornamental    Apache    Bowl 166  321. 

229-30.     Point  Barrow   Baskets 167  322. 

231.  Large  Granary   168  323. 

232.  Klamath    Twined    Basket 169  324. 

233.  Square  Inch  of  Fig.   232 170  325. 

234.  Hoochnom    Coiled   Basket 171  326. 

235.  Square   Inch   of   234 170  327. 

236.  Yokut     Basket     Bowl 171  328. 

237.  Cahuilla  Do 173  329. 

238.  Square   Inch    of   Fig.    237 172  330. 

239.  Inside  View  of  Fig.   237 174  331. 

240.  Cahuilla  Basket  Bowl 174  332. 

241.  Coiled    Jar    (Zuni) 173  333. 

242.  Square    inch    of    Fig.    241 175  334. 

243.  Pima    Basket    Bowl 176  335. 

244.  Pima    Basket     (Lightning     Sym-  337. 

bols)     176  338. 

245.  Do.     (Greek    Design) 175 

246.  Apache    Basket    Bowl 177  339. 

247.  Garotero    Apache    Bowl 177 

248.  Paiuti    Mush    Basket 177  340. 

249.  Paiuti     Basket 178  342. 

250.  Ute   Basket  Hat    179  343. 

251.  Square    Inch    of    Fig.    250 178  344. 

252.  Paiuti    Roasting    Tray 180  345. 

253.  Paiuti    Carrying   Basket    180 

254.  Paiuti    Harvesting    Wand 181  346. 

255.  Makah    Basketry 181  348. 

256-7-8.     Makah   Bottle   Basket 182  349. 

259.  Ciallam    Bird    Cage    Weave 183 

260.  Ciallam    Carrying   Basket 184  350. 

261.  Square  Inch  of  Fig.  260 183  351. 

262.  Makah    Trinket   Basket 184 

263.  Square   Inch   of  Fig.    262 185  322. 

264.  Angola    Carrying    Crate 185  353. 

265.  Haida  Hat    185  354. 

266.  Do 186 

267.  Do.,    Before    Painting 186  (555. 

268.  Basket  Used  in  Dice  Games 185 

269.  Do 223  356. 

270.  Yokut    Heart-Shaped    Basket 188  357. 

271.  Baskets   Depicting    Human 

Figures    188  358. 

272.  S.    Cal.    Baskets iyu 

273.  Cahuilla  Baskets   190  359. 

274.  Baskets    Spoiled    by    Vicious 

Imitation    .  .  192 


Page. 

Yokut    Basket   with   Crosses 192 

7-8.     Typical  Basket  Decorations..  193 

280.     Do 195 

282.     Pottery   Designs    196 

Pottery   Design    from    Basketry..  198 

6.     Salish    Design     198 

Hartt's  Fret  Theory    199 

Hartt's   Scroll  Theory 202 

Scrolls   on   Pottery    199 

Pottery   Scroll  on  Basketry 202 

Fret    of     Pottery 199 

Havasupai   Design    203 

4.     Amazon  Fret  and  Zigzag 203 

Geometrical    Spiral    on   Apache 

Basket   204 

Do.  on  Pottery   205 

Baskets    in    Campbell    Collection.  207 

Salish   Basketry    207 

Salish    Basketry     208 

Tree   and   Branch  Design 208 

Mescal  Design    208 

Fish  and  Leaf  Design 208 

Worm    Track    Design 208 

Da-so-la-le's    Masterpiece 209 

Poetic   Saboba  Design    217 

Design    of    Flying    Bats 217 

Ramona  and  Star  Basket 221 

Wainwright    Collection 221 

Fish    Teeth    Design 234 

Earthworm     Design     234 

Quail  Design    236 


Duck's    Wing    Design  

236 

Millipede    Design  

236 

Raccoon    Design     

236 

Grasshopper  Design   
Eye   Design    , 

236 

237 

Flower  Design    

237 

Brake    Design    

238 

Brake    Design    

238 

Vine    Design    

238 

Pine    Cone   Design    

238 

Bush   Design    

239 

Feather    Design  

239. 

Feather    Design    

240 

Feather    Design     

239 

Feather    Design     

240 

Arrow    Point    Design  

240 

Arrow  Point  Design  241 

Mountains  and  Clouds  Design..  241 

Cahuilla  Weaver  Z42 

Pima  Weaver  243 

Pima  Baskets  (Benham  Coll.).,  243 
Apache  Baskets  (Benham  Co.l.)  245 
Apache  Basket  (Benham  Coll.)  245 
Various  Baskets  in  Benham  Coll.  246 
Baskets  (mostly  Oraibi) 

(Benham  Coll.)  246 

California  Baskets 

(Benham  Coll.)  248 

Dat-so-la-le  248 

Mono  Flour  Sifters 252 

Mono  Baskets  253 

Mono  Mush  Baskets  252 

Mono  Baskets  (Rattlesnake 

Design)  254 

Hill  Collection  256 

Aleut  Baskets  (Frohman  Coll.).  258 
Yakutat  Baskets  (Frohman 

Coll.)  260 

Calif.  Baskets  (Frohman  Coll.).  262 
Yokut,  Klikitat,  Haida  and 

Aleut  Baskets  (Frohman  Coll.)  262 
Potlach  Hats  (Frohman  Coll.)..  262 

Klikitat  Weavers  8 

Skokomish  Baskets  (Frohman 

Coll.)  264 

Thompson  River  Baskets 

(Frohman  Coll.)  264 

Baby  Baskets  265 

Various  Baskets  (Frohman 

Coll.)  265 

California  Baskets  (Frohman 

Coll.)  266 

Various  Baskets  (Frohman 

Coll.)     268 


A  PAINT!  EXPERT  AT  THE   TULE   RIVER   RESERVATION. 


PREFACE. 
j* 

What  would  be  the  civilized  man  of  to-day  without  the  art  of 
weaving — the  soft  art  that  surrounds  his  home  with  comforts  and 
his  life  with  luxuries?  Nay  he  deems  them  necessities.  Could  he  do 
without  his  woven  woollen  or  cotton  underwear,  his  woven  socks, 
his  woven  clothing?  Where  would  be  his  bed  linen  and  blankets, 
his  carpets,  his  curtains,  his  portieres  ?  His  every  day  life  is  so  inti 
mately  associated  with  weaving  that  he  has  ceased  to  think  about  it, 
and  yet  it  is  all  owing  to  the  work  of  primitive,  aboriginal  woman 
that  he  is  thus  favored.  For  there  is  not  a  weave  of  any  kind,  no  matter 
how  intricate  or  involved,  that  the  finest  looms  of  England  or  America 
produce  to-day  under  the  direction  of  the  highest  mechanical  genius, 
that  was  not  handed  down  to  us,  not  in  crude  form,  but  as  perfect 
as  we  now  find  it,  by  our  savage  ancestry  in  their  basketry  and  kindred 
work. 

Interest  in  the  arts  and  industries  of  our  aboriginal  tribes  has  grown 
so  rapidly  in  recent  years,  that  whereas,  twenty  years  ago,  illustrative 
collections  of  the  products  of  these  arts  and  industries  were  confined 
to  the  museums  of  scientific  societies,  to-day  they  are  to  be  found  in 
scores  of  private  homes.  This  popular  interest  has  created  a  demand 
for  knowledge  as  to  the  peoples  whose  arts  these  collections  illustrate, 
and  of  the  customs. — social,  tribal,  medicinal,  religious, — in  which  the 
products  of  their  arts  are  used. 

One  of  the  most  common  and  useful  of  the  domestic  arts  of  the 
Amerind*  is  that  of  basketry.  It  is  primitive  in  the  extreme,  is  uni 
versal,  both  as  to  time  and  location,  and  as  far  as  we  know  has  changed 
comparatively  little  since  the  days  of  its  introduction.  It  touches  the 
Amerind  at  all  points  of  his  life  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  and  its 
products  are  used  in  every  function,  domestic,  social  and  religious, 
of  his  simple  civilization. 

To  give  a  little  of  such  knowledge  as  the  intelligent  collector  of 
Indian  baskets  desires  to  possess  is  the  purpose  of  this  unpretentious 
book. 

Its  field  is  limited  to  the  Indians  of  the  South-west,  the  Pacific 
States  and  Alaska.  It  is  an  incomplete  pioneer  in  an  unoccupied  field 
of  popular  literature,  and  later  writers  will  doubtless  be  able  to  add 
much,  and  correct  more.  It  is  the  result  of  twenty  years  personal 
observation  and  study  among  the  Indians  of  our  South-west,  much 
correspondence  and  questioning  of  authorities,  and  the  reading  and 
culling  from  every  known  source  of  information.  Everything  that  I 
could  find  that  seemed  reliable  has  been  taxed.  Necessarily,  no  one 
individual  could  possibly  describe,  with  accuracy,  the  basketry  of 

*This  is  a  new  coinage  by  Major  J.  W.  Powell,  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  to  designate  the  North  American  aborigine. 


10  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

this  entensive  territory  unless  he  were  prepared  to  travel  over  the 
vast  regions  of  the  North-west  and  South-west,  and  personally  visit 
each  tribe  of  basket-makers,  watch  them  gather  the  grasses,  collect 
the  dyes,  prepare  both  for  use,  dye  the  materials,  and  go  through  all 
the  labor  of  weaving,  then  study  the  symbolism  of  the  designs,  learn 
all  about  the  ancient  methods  of  manufacture,  and,  finally,  visit  all 
family,  social  and  ceremonial  functions  where  baskets  are  used. 

Hence,  it  is  evident  that  such  a  work  must  be,  as  this  confessedly 
is,  largely  a  compilation. 

If  collectors  find  it  at  all  helpful  or  suggestive;  if  it  aids  in  popu-    V 
larizing   knowledge   on  these   interesting  products   of  our   aboriginal 
peoples,  and  leads  to  a  study  of  the  peoples  themselves  I  shall  be  more 
than  repaid  for  the  time  and  labor  expended  in  its  production. 

For  material  aid,  I  wish  most  cordially  to  thank  Major  J.  W. 
Powell,  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes  and  Professor  F.  W.  Hodge,  of  the 
U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  and  the  Hon.  S.  P.  Langley,  Professors 
Otis  T.  Mason,  W.  H.  Holmes  and  Dr.  Walter  Hough,  of  the  Smith 
sonian  Institution,  together  with  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson,  of  Ukiah,  Cal., 
and  Rev.  W.  C.  Curtis,  of  Norwalk,  Conn. 

The  engravings  of  the  Government  have  been  placed  at  my  disposal, 
and  many  of  the  detailed  descriptions  of  the  baskets  are  taken  verbatim 
from  Professor  Mason's  papers  which  appear  in  the  reports  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution. 

My  thanks  are  also  extended  to  Mr.  W.  W.  Newell,  of  the  American 
Folk  Lore  Society,  Dr.  J.  H.  Kellogg,  Editor  of  Good  Health,  Apple- 
ton's  Popular  Science  Monthly,  and  the  Traveler,  San  Francisco,  for 
the  use  of  cuts  and  especially  to  F.  S.  Plimpton,  Esq.,  of  San  Diego, 
Cal.,  who  has  kindly  made  it  possible  for  me  to  illustrate  several  most 
interesting  specimens  of  his  excellent  collection. 

GEORGE  WHARTON  JAMES, 
PASADENA,  CALIFORNIA. 


INTRODUCTION. 


II 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTION. 

A  few  hundred  years  ago  our  own  ancestors  were  "aborigines,"- 
they  wore  skins  for  clothes;  wove  baskets;  lived  in  wicker  and  skin 
huts  or  in  caves ;  ate  nuts,  herbs,  acorns,  roots  and  depended  upon 
the  fortunes  of  the  chase  for  their  meats,  just  as  the  Amerind  of  the 
present  and  past  generations  are  doing  and  have  done.  Hence,  as 
Indian  baskets  are  woven  by  human  beings,  akin  to  ourselves,  and 
are  used  by  them  in  a  variety  of  relations  of  intensely  human  interest, 
we  are  studying  humanity  under  its  earliest  and  simplest  phases, — 
such  phases  as  were  probably  manifested  in  our  own  ancestral  history 
—when  we  intelligently  study  Indian  Basketry. 

The   earliest  vessels  used  by  mankind  undoubtedly   were   shells, 
broken  gourds  or  other  natural  receptacles  that  presented  themselves 


A  HAIDA  INDIAN  AND  HER  BASKET  WORK. 


opportunely  to  the  needs  of  the  aborigine.  As  his  intelligence  grew 
and  he  moved  from  place  to  place,  the  gourd  as  a  receptacle  for  water 
when  he  crossed  the  hot  and  desert  regions  became  a  necessary  com 
panion.  But  accidents  doubtless  would  happen  to  the  fragile  vessel 
and  then  the  suggestion  of  strengthening  it  by  means  of  fiber  nets 
arose  and  the  first  step  towards  basket-making  was  taken.  It  is  easy 


12 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


A  YOKUT  WEAVER  AND  HER  SON. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

to  conceive  how  the  breakage  of  a  gourd  thus  surrounded  by  a  rude 
sustaining  or  carrying  net  led  to  the  independent  use  of  the  net  after 
the  removal  of  the  broken  pieces,  and  thus  nets  ultimately  would  be 
made  for  carrying  purposes  without  reference  to  any  other  vehicle. 
Weaving  once  begun,  no  matter  how  rough  or  crude,  improvement 
was  bound  to  follow,  and  hence,  the  origin  of  the  basket. 

In  Indian  basketry  we  may  look  and  find  instruction  as  to  the 
higher  development  of  our  primitive  people.  There  is  no  question  that 
baskets  preceded  pottery-making  and  the  close  and  fine  weaving  of  tex 
tures,  so  the  ethnologist  finds  in  "the  progressive  steps  of  their  manu 
facture  a  preparatory  training  for  pottery,  weaving  and  other  primitive 
arts." 

Basket-making  was  a  common  industry  with  all  the  Indians  of  the 
American  Continent.  In  the  North,  baskets  were,  and  still  are,  made, 
and  we  know  of  their  manufacture  by  the  Indians  of  Carolina,  Virginia, 
Georgia  and  Louisiana.  Baskets  have  also  been  found  among  the 
remains  of  the  Mound  Builders.  In  the  ruins  of  Southern  Colorado 
and  that  interesting  region  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  some  of  the 
prehistoric  graves  contain  so  Jnany  baskets  as  to  give  their  occupants 
the  name  of  "The  Basket  Makers." 

"There  are  no  savages  on  earth  so  rude  that  they  have  no  form  of 
basketry.  The  birds  and  beasts  are  basket-makers,  and  some  fishes 
construct  for  themselves  little  retreats  where  they  may  hide.  Long 
before  the  fire-maker,  the  potter,  or  even  the  cook,  came  the  mothers 
of  the  Fates,  spinning  threads,  drawing  them  out  and  cutting  them 
off.  Coarse  basketry  or  matting  is  found  charred  in  very  ancient 
sepulchers.  With  few  exceptions  women,  the  wide  world  over,  are  the 
basket-makers,  netters  and  weavers." — Otis  T.  Mason. 

Of  the  antiquity  of  baskets  there  can  be  little  doubt.  Col.  James 
Jackson,  U.  S.  A.,  says: 

"Pottery  making  and  basket  weaving  are  as  old  as  the  human  race. 
As  far  back  as  there  are  any  relics  of  humanity  are  found  the  traces 
of  these  industries,  supplying  no  doubt  a  very  positive  human  need. 
From  the  graves  of  the  mound  builders,  from  Etruscan  tombs — far 
beyond  the  dawn  of  Roman  power — from  the  ruins  of  Cyclopean  con 
struction,  Chaldean  antiquities  and  from  Egyptian  catacombs  come 
the  evidences  of  their  manufacture.  Aboriginal  occupation  of  the 
American  continents  seems  to  be  as  old,  if  not  older,  than  that  of  either 
Europe  or  Asia,  and  when  we  look  upon  the  baskets  and  pottery 
gathered  here  we  behold  the  results  of  an  industry  that  originated 
in  the  very  dawn  of  human  existence  and  has  been  continued  with  but 
little  change  down  to  the  present  time.  Our  word  basket  has  itself 
changed  but  little  from  its  original,  the  Welsh  "basgawd"  meaning 
literally  a  weaving  or  putting  together  of  splinters.  The  ancient 
Welsh,  or  Britons,  were  expert  basket  makers,  and  Roman  annals 
tell  us  that  the  halls  of  wealthy  Roman  citizens  were  decorated  with 
the  beautiful  and  costly  produce  of  their  handiwork.  Made  from  what 
ever  substances  were  most  appropriate  or  convenient  they  have  been 
shaped  by  the  needs  and  decorated  by  the  fancy  or  superstitions  of 
barbaric  or  semi-civilized  peoples,  and  have  served  all  purposes  from 
plates  to  dwelling-  houses." 

"Among  primitive  arts,  basketry  also  furnishes  the  most  striking 
illustration  of  the  inventive  genius,  fertility  of  resource  and  almost 


14  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

incredible  patience  of  the  Indian  woman.  They  collected  the  fuel, 
gathered  the  stores  of  acorns,  mesquite  and  other  wild  seeds;  they 
dried  the  grasshoppers  for  winter  use.  In  times  of  scarcity  they 
searched  every  hiding  of  fat  grub  or  toothsome  bulb ;  or  with  a  tough 
stick  drove  the  angle  worms  from  their  holes  and  with  the  addition  of 
a  few  wild  onions  and  acorn  flour  converted  the  mess  into  an  appe 
tizing  soup.  They  made  petticoats  of  tule  and  other  wild  grasses  fq.r 
summer  use,  and  winter  garments  of  rabbit  and  squirrel  skins.  And 


MERCED  NOLASQULY,  A  PALATINGWA  BASKET  WEAVER,  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 

while  all  these  accomplishments  added  to  the  market  value  of  the 
women,  it  was  invariably  the  most  expert  in  basketry  who  brought 
the  highest  price,  viz.:  two  strings  of  shell  money,  or  one  hundred 
dollars." — Mrs.  Jeanne  C.  Carr. 


INTRODUCTION.  1 5 

Indian  basketry  is  almost  entirely  the  work  of  Indian  women,  and, 
therefore,  its  study  necessarily  leads  us  into  the  sanctum-sanctorum 
of  feminine  Indian  life.  The  thought  of  the  woman,  the  art  develop 
ment,  the  acquirement  of  skill,  the  appreciation  of  color,  the  utilization 
of  crude  material  for  her  purposes,  the  labor  of  gathering  the  mate 
rials,  the  objects  she  had  in  view  in  the  manufacture  of  her  baskets, 
the  methods  she  followed  to  attain  those  objects,  her  failures,  her 
successes,  her  conception  of  art,  her  more  or  less  successful  attempts 
to  imitate  the  striking  objects  of  Nature  with  which  she  came  in  con 
tact,  the  aesthetic  qualities  of  mind  that  led  her  to  desire  to  thus  repro 
duce  or  imitate  Nature — all  these,  and  a  thousand  other  things  in  the 
Indian  woman's  life,  are  discoverable  in  an  intelligent  study  of  Indian 
basketry. 

One  has  but  to  study  the  history  of  all  industrial,  as  distinguished 
from  military,  occupations,  to  see  how  honored  a  position  woman  has 
won  by  her  indomitable  energy,  constant  industry  and  keen  witted- 
ness.  Those  fools  of  the  male  sex  who  sneer  at  the  "uselessness  of 
woman"  merely  reveal  their  supernal  ignorance  of  what  man  owes  to 
woman  in  the  industrial  arts  and  sciences.  Her  work,  from  the  very 
earliest  ages  of  human  history,  has  tended  towards  the  health,  the 
comfort,  the  knowledge  and  the  culture  of  mankind.  She  has  not  been 
merely  the  wife,  the  mother,  the  nurse  of  man,  but  the  teacher  in  many 
arts  which  man  now  proudly  and  haughtily  claims  as  his  own  "sphere." 

And  one  of  the  foremost  of  these  industrial  arts  is  that  of  weaving — - 
purely  a  product  of  woman's  wit  and  skill.  As  Dr.  Otis  T.  Mason  has 
eloquently  written:  "A  careful  study  of  the  homely  occupations  of 
savage  women  is  the  best  guide  to  their  share  in  creating  the  aesthetic 
arts.  Whether  in  the  two  Americas,  or  in  the  heart  of  Africa,  or  among 
the  peoples  of  Oceania,  the  perpetual  astonishment  is  not  the  lack  of 
art,  but  the  superabundance  of  it." 

"Call  to  mind  the  exquisite  sewing  of  the  Eskimo  woman  with 
sinew  thread  and  needle  of  bone,  or  the  wonderful  basketry  of  all  the 
American  tribes,  the  bark  work  of  Polynesia,  the  loom  work  of  Africa, 
the  pottery  of  the  Pueblos,  of  Central  America  and  Peru.  Compare 
these  with  the  artistic  productions  of  our  present  generation  of  girls 
and  women  at  their  homes.  I  assure  you  the  comparison  is  not 
in  favor  of  the  laborers'  daughters,  but  of  the  daughters  and  wives  of 
the  degraded  savage.  In  painting,  dyeing,  moulding,  modelling, 
weaving  and  embroidering,  in  the  origination  first  of  geometric  pat 
terns  and  then  of  freehand  drawing,  savage  women,  primitive  women, 
have  won  their  title  to  our  highest  admiration." 

Compare  the  basketry  of  women  with  that  of  men.  Go  into  any 
basket  shop  of  the  modern  civilized  world  and  pick  up  the  ugly  and 
homely,  though  useful,  objects  called  baskets,  and  place  them  side 
by  side  with  the  products  of  the  savage  woman's  art  and  skill.  Every 
lover  of  beautiful  work,  of  artistic  form,  beautiful  design  and  delicate 
color  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  highest  admiration  at  the  sight 
of  the  latter,  while  the  former  are  tolerated  only  for  their  usefulness. 

To  the  uninitiated  a  fine  Indian  basket  may  possess  a  few  exterior 
attractions,  such  as  shapely  form,  delicate  color  and  harmonious 
design,  but  anything  further  he  cannot  see.  On  the  other  hand  the 
initiated  sees  a  work  of  love ;  a  striving  after  the  ideal ;  a  reverent 
propitiation  of  supernatural  powers,  good  or  evil ;  a  nation's  art  ex 
pression,  a  people's  inner  life  of  poetry,  art,  religion ;  and  thus  he 


l6  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

comes  to  a  closer  knowledge  of  the  people  it  represents,  a  deeper 
sympathy  with  them ;  a  fuller  recognition  of  the  oneness  of  human  life, 
though  under  so  many  and  diverse  manifestations.  Fine  baskets,  to  the 
older  Indian  women,  were  their  poems,  their  paintings,  their  sculpture, 
their  cathedrals,  their  music;  and  the  civilized  world  is  just  learning 
the  first  lessons  of  the  aboriginal  melodies  and  harmonies  in  these 
wicker-work  masterpieces. 

What  Victor  Hugo  strikingly  expressed  about  the  cathedrals  of 
Europe  when  he  exclaimed  "The  book  has  killed  the  building!"  could 
be  truthfully  applied  to  the  Indian  in  the  expression  "Civilization 
has  killed  the  basket."  For  as  the  Indian  woman  finds  that  she  can 
purchase  for  a  few  cents  the  pans,  pots  and  kettles  used  by  her  civilized 
sister  she  loses  the  desire  to  spend  weary  days,  and  even  months,  in 
making  the  baskets,  which,  in  the  past,  served  alone  as  her  domestic 
utensils.  Consequently  basket  making  as  a  fine  art  among  the 
aborigines  is  rapidly  dying  out.  True,  there  are  still  many  baskets 
made,  and  on  a  recent  trip  to  the  High  Sierras  of  California  I 
found  a  number  of  first-class  basket  makers  at  work,  and,  more  pleasing 
still,  some  of  the  young  girls  were  learning  the  art.  But  in  almost 
every  case  the  basket  maker  of  to-day  is  dominated  by  a  rude  commer 
cialism  rather  than  by  the  desire  to  make  a  basket  which  shall  be  her 
best  prized  household  treasure  as  the  highest  expression  of  which 
she  is  capable  of  the  art  instinct  within  her.  Hence  the  rage  for  old 
baskets.  A  true  collector  does  not  wish  a  basket  made  to  sell,  and 
as  the  old  baskets  were  comparatively  limited  in  number,  the  oppor 
tunity  to  secure  them  is  rapidly  passing  away,  if  it  has  not  already 
disappeared.  By  this,  of  course,  I  do  not  mean  that  old  baskets  may 
not  be  purchased.  Collections  now  and  then  are  for  sale,  which  are 
rich  in  rare  old  specimens  of  the  weaver's  art ;  and  occasionally,  but, 
now,  alas,  very  occasionally,  the  indefatigable  collector  may  pick  up 
an  ancient  basket  in  some  far-away  Indian  hut. 


BASKETRY   THE    MOTHER    OP   POTTERY. 


CHAPTER  II. 
BASKETRY  THE  MOTHER  OF  POTTERY. 

That  the  art  of  basketry  antedates  the  art  of  pottery  is  generally 
conceded.  In  an  interesting  monograph  published  in  the  reports  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Mr.  Gushing  urges  that  pottery  was  sug- 


FIG.  6.     HAVASUPAI  CLAY-LINED  ROASTING-TRAY. 

gested  by  the  clay  lined  basketry  of  the  Havasupai  Indians  in  Arizona. 
In  1887,  when  he  visited  them,  he  found  them  doing  the  cooking  of 
their  seeds,  mush,  meat,  etc.,  in  wicker  baskets  lined  with  sandy  clay, 
and  thus  describes  the  method  followed  : 


FIG.  7     BASKET-BOWL    AS    BASE-MOULD    FOR    POTTERY. 


"A  round  basket  tray,  either  loosely  or  closely  woven,  is  evidently 
coated  inside  with  clay,  into  which  has  been  kneaded  a  very  large 


1 8  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

proportion  of  sand,  to  prevent  contraction  and  consequent  cracking, 
from  drying.  This  lining  of  clay  is  pressed  into  the  basket  as  closely 
as  possible  with  hands,  and  then  allowed  to  dry.  See  Fig.  6.  The 
tray  is  thus  made  ready  for  use.  The  seeds  or  other  substances  to 
be  parched  are  placed  inside  of  it,  together  with  a  quantity  of  glowing 
wood  coals.  The  operator,  quickly  squatting,  grasps  the  tray  at 
opposite  edges,  and  by  a  rapid  spiral  motion  up  and  down,  succeeds  in 
keeping  the  seeds  and  coals  constantly  shifting  places,  and  turning  over 
as  they  dance  after  one  another  around  and  around  the  tray,  mean^ 
while  blowing  or  puffing  the  embers  with  every  breath  to  keep  them 
free  from  ashes  and  glowing  at  their  hottest." 

A  few  ye^rs  later  when  I  .made  my  first  visits  to  the  Havasupais 
I  found  the  same  methods  still  in  vogue.  It  is  readily  apparent  that 
the  constant  heating  of  the  clay  lining  would  cause  it  to  grow  hard, 
and  instances  would  occur  when  it  would  become  detached  from  the 
wicker-work  and  a  perfect  earthen  roasting  vessel  be  produced.  The 
occasional  production  of  such  a  vessel,  suitable  in  all  ways  and  for  all 
uses  in  cookery,  would  suggest  the  manufacture  of  similar  serviceable 
utensils. 

Professor  Holmes  says :  "The  clay  vessel  is  an  intruder,  and 
usurps  the  place  and  appropriates  the  dress  of  its  predecessor  in 
wicker.  The  forms  illustrated  in  Figs.  8  and  9  are  clay  forms,  common 
with  South  Western  Indians,  and  are  undoubtedly  taken  from  basketry 
shapes  as  illustrated  in  the  water  bottles  and  carrying  baskets,  shown 
elsewhere." 


FIG.  8.  FIG.  9.  FIG.  10. 

That  basketry  was  intimately  connected  with  two  distinct  methods 
of  pottery-making  is  proven  by  the  clearest  evidence.  In  the  Miss 
issippi  Valley,  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  elsewhere  in  the  United 
States  thousands  of  pieces  of  pottery  have  been  found  which  unmis 
takably  show  that  the  soft  clay  was  modelled  around  the  outside  or 
within  some  basket  form  which  gave  the  shape  of  the  vessel.  In  all 
the  museums  these  specimens  of  pottery  may  be  found.  It  will  be 
observed  in  studying  them  that  they  bear  far  more  impressions  of 
basketry  and  other  textile  arts  than  of  natural  objects,  such  as  gourds, 
shells,  etc.  It  is  also  observable  that  every  basketry  stitch  or  pattern 
known  lo  the  aborigines  is  found  in  these  pottery  impressions.  Hence 
the  natural  inferences  that  basketry  antedates  pottery,  and  that  the  art 
of  basket-making  was  in  an  advanced  stage  whilst  pottery  was  still 
in  its  infancy. 

How  fascinating  the  work  of  the  antiquarian  and  archaeologist.  To 
pick  up  even  the  fragments  of  the  pottery  of  a  long  past  age,  brush 
off  the  accumulated  dirt  and  read  thereupon  the  relation  its  manu- 


BASKETRY   THE    MOTHER   OP   POTTERY. 

•  facture  bore  to  a  sister  art,  and  then,  slowly  but  surely,  to  decipher 
every  method  followed  by  primitive  artist ;  to  tell  how  spinner,  weaver, 
net  maker  worked,  and  with  what  materials,  and  then  to  discover  that 
every  stitch  of  plain  weaving,  diaper  weaving,  twined  weaving  and 
coiled  weaving  known  to  modern  art  was  used  by  these  ignorant  and 
savage  people  of  the  dark  ages. 

Mr.  Gushing  thus  describes  the  process  of  manufacture  as  he  saw 
it  carried  on,  and  as  I  have  seen  it  again  and  again,  at  Zuni,  Laguna, 
Acoma  and  the  Hopi  pueblos. 

Forming  a  rope  of  soft  clay,  she  coiled  it  upon  a  center,  to  form  the 
bottom.  Placing  it  upon  an  inverted  food-basket,  bowl-shaped,  she 
pressed  the  coils  of  clay  closely  together,  one  upon  the  other  (Fig.  10), 
and  as  soon  as  the  desired  size  was  attained,  loosened  the  bowl  from 
the  basket  and  thus  provided  herself  with  a  new  utensil.  In  conse 
quence  of  the  difficulty  experienced  in  removing  these  bowl-forms 
from  the  bottom  of  the  baskets — which  had  to  be  done  while  they 
were  still  plastic,  to  keep  them  from  cracking — they  were  very  shallow. 
Hence  the  specimens  found  among  the  older  ruins  and  graves  are  not 
only  corrugated  outside,  but  are  also  very  wide  in  proportion  to  their 
height. 


FIG.    11.   BASKET    BASE    MOLD  FIG.     12.      FIRST    FORM    OF 

FOR    COILED    POTTERY.  THE     VESSEL. 

The  other  primitive  method  followed  was  one  that  is  still  practiced 
by  all  the  pottery  makers  of  the  South-west.  It  is  an  imitation  of 
basketry  methods ;  not  a  moulding  upon  baskets,  but  an  application 
of  coiled  methods  of  weaving  to  the  manufacture  of  pottery.  Just  as 
the  basket  weaver  wraps  one  coil  upon  another,  so  does  the  pottery 
maker  take  her  rope  of  clay  and  coil  it  up  as  shown  in  Fig.  n. 

By  and  by  the  desire  for  ornamentation  of  pottery  arose,  and  from 
this  sprang  the  discovery  of  the  fact  that,  while  the  clay  was  plastic, 
the  exterior  of  the  vessel  could  be  smoothed  with  a  spatula  of  bone 
or  gourd,  no  matter  what  its  size,  if  supported  at  the  bottom  in  a 
basket  or  other  mold  so  that  it  could  be  shifted  or  turned  about  without 
direct  handling.  See  Fig.  7. 

To  smooth  such  a  vessel  inside  and  out  required  that  it  have  a  wide 
mouth,  but,  by  and  by,  the  potter  determined  that  the  mouth  must 
be  contracted  as  much  water  was  spilled  in  carrying  the  full  ol'la  from 
the  spring  or  river  to  the  house.  She  still  used  the  basket  as  a  base 
for  her  pottery  as  shown  in  Fig.  12,  and  to  this  desire  for  a  small 
mouthed  olla  Gushing  claims  we  owe  the  beautiful  shape  of  Fig.  13. 


20 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


He  says :  "One  of  the  consequences  of  all  this  was  that  when  large 
they  could  not  be  stroked  inside,  as  the  shoulders  or  uttermost  upper 
peripheries  of  the  vessel  could  not  be  reached  with  the  hand  or  scraper 
through  the  small  openings.  The  effect  of  the  pressure  exerted  in 
smoothing  them  on  the  outside,  therefore,  naturally  caused  the  upper 
parts  to  sink  down,  generating  the  spheroidal  shape  of  the  jar,  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  types  of  the  olla  ever  known  to  the  Pueblos.  At 
Zuni,  wishing  to  have  an  ancient  jar  of  this  form  which  I  had  seen, 
reproduced,  I  showed  a  drawing  of  it  to  a  woman  expert  in  the  manu-% 
facture  of  pottery.  Without  any  instructions  from  me  beyond  a  mere 
statement  of  my  wishes,  she  proceeded  at  once  to  sprinkle  the  inside  V 
of  a  basket-bowl  with  sand,  managing  the  clay  in  the  way  above  de- 


FIG.    13.      SECONDARY    FORM 
OF    THE    VESSEL. 


FIG.     14.       FINISHED     VESSEL, 
SHOWING     CONTRACTIONS 
IN    DRYING. 


scribed  and  continuing  the  vessel  shaping  upward  by  spiral  building. 
She  did  not  at  first  make  the  shoulders  low  or  sloping,  but  rounded 
or  arched  them  upward  and  outward.  At  this  I  remonstrated,  but 
she  gave  no  heed  other  than  to  ejaculate  "Wa-na-ni-ana !"  which 
meant  "just  wait,  will  you!"  When  she  had  finished  the  rim,  she 
easily  caused  the  shoulders  to  sink,  simply  by  stroking  them — more 
where  uneven  than  elsewhere — with  a  wet  scraper  of  gourd  until  she 
had  exactly  reproduced  the  form  of  the  drawing.  She  then  set  the 
vessel  aside  in  the  basket.  Within  two  days  it  shrank  by  drying  at  the 
rate  of  about  one  inch  in  twelve,  leaving  the  basket  far  too  large.  It 
could  hence  be  removed  without  the  slightest  difficulty.  (See  Fig.  14). 


BASKETRY    IN    INDIAN    LEGEND. 


21 


22 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


CHAPTER  III. 
BASKETRY  IN  INDIAN  LEGEND. 

Considering  the  important  place  that  basketry  holds  in  the  life  of, 
the  Indian,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  much  legendary  lore  of  one  kind ' 
or  another  would  be  associated  with  it.     And  such  is  the  case.     Did 
one  have  the  time   and   opportunity,   he   might  accumulate   a   large 
volume  of  such  legends.    A  few  must  here  suffice. 

MacMurray  thus  writes  of  the  Cosmogony  of  the  Yakimas  as  it  was 
told  to  him  by  one  of  their  great  war  chiefs:  "The  world  was  all 
water,  and  Saghalee  Tyee  was  above  it.  He  threw  up  out  of  the  water 
at  shallow  places  large  quantities  of  mud,  and  that  made  the  land. 
He  made  trees  to  grow,  and  he  made  a  man  out  of  a  ball  of  'mud 


FIG.    16.      INDIAN    BABY    BASKET. 

CALIFORNIA    TRIBE. 
CHRYSALIS    PATTERN. 


FIG.    17.      CRADLE    OF    NEVADA 

UTES,    SHOWING    CALIFORNIAN 

INFLUENCES. 


and  instructed  him  in  what  he  should  do.  When  the  man  grew  lone 
some,  he  made  a  woman  as  his  companion,  and  taught  her  to  dress 
skins,  and  to  gather  berries,  and  to  make  baskets  of  the  bark  of  roots, 
which  he  taught  her  how  to  find. 

"She  was  asleep  and  dreaming  of  her  ignorance  of  how  to  please 


BASKETRY   IN   INDIAN    LEGEND.  23 

man,  and  she  prayed  to  Saghalee  Tyee  to  help  her.  He  breathed  on  her 
and  gave  her  something  that  she  could  not  see,  or  hear,  or  smell,  or 
touch,  and  it  was  preserved  in  a  little  basket,  and  by  it  all  the  arts 
of  design  and  skilled  handiwork  were  imparted  to  her  descendants." 

This  Yakima  chief  then,  in  order  that  Mrs.  MacMurray  might  be 
inspired  likewise,  presented  her  husband  with  a  very  ancient  drum- 
shaped  basket,  about  two  and  one  half  inches  in  diameter,  which  is 
now  most  carefully  preserved  among  other  'baskets  in  the  Mac  Mur 
ray  home  at  Princeton,  N.  J. 

According  to  Washington  Matthews  the  Navahoes  have  many 
legends  with  which  baskets  are  connected. 

Here  is  a  description  of  the  first  baby  baskets  ever  made.  Surely 
none  but  a  poetic  and  imaginative  people  could  ever  have  conceived 
so  wonderful  a  basket.  Their  gods  of  war  were  born  of  two  women, 
one  fathered  by  the  sun,  the  other  by  a  waterfall,  and  when  they  were 
born  they  were  placed  in  baby  baskets  both  alike  as  follows  :  The 
foot-rests  and  the  back  battens  were  made  of  sunbeam,  the  hoods  of 
rainbow,  the  side-strings  of  sheet  lightning,  and  the  lacing  strings  of 
zigzag  lightning.  One  child  they  covered  with  the  black  cloud,  and 
the  other  with  the  female  rain. 

Another  form  of  this  story  says  that  the  boy  born  first  was  wrapped 
in  black  cloud.  A  rainbow  was  used  for  the  hood  of  his  basket  and 
studded  with  stars.  The  back  of  the  frame  was  a  parhelion, -with  the 
bright  spot  at  its  bottom  shining  at  the  lowest  point.  Zi'gzag  lightning 
was  laid  in  each  side  and  straight  lightning  down  the  middle  in/  front. 
Niltsatlol  (sunbeams  shining  on  a  distant  rainstorm)  formed  the  fringe 
in  front  where  Indians  now  put  strips  of  buckskin.  The  carry-straps 
were  sunbeams. 

It  has  often  been  stated  that  the  Navahoes  make  no  baskets,  yet 
in  the  light  of  the  following  legend  it  would  certainly  appear  that  they 
were  basket-makers  from  the  earliest  ages.  Doubtless  the  art  has  suf 
fered  a  great  decline,  and  it  is  true  that  but  few  Navaho  women  now 
practice  it.  Yet  I  have  myself  seen  them  at  work  and  while  thus 
occupied  have  succeeded  in  photographing  them. 

This  legend  is  of  one  of  their  maidens  who  made  baskets.  She  was 
wooed  by  the  Coyote,  whose  life  principle  was  not  in  his  chest  where 
it  would  be  easy  to  destroy  it,  but  in  the  tip  of  his  nose  and  the  end  of 
his  tail.  The  Coyote  had  slain  the  Great  Wolf  but  the  maiden  refused 
to  marry  him  unless  he  had  first  been  slain  four  times  and  four  times 
had  come  back  to  life.  Coyote  allowed  the  maid  to  beat  him  with  a 
great  club  until  she  thought  him  dead.  Then  she  went  to  her  basket- 
making.  She  was  engaged  in  making  four  baskets  at  the  time,  but 
had  not  worked  long  before  Coyote  came  back. 

Again  she  beat  him  with  the  club  so  that  his  body  was  hacked  into 
pieces,  and  again  she  returned  to  her  basketry,  only  to  find  Coyote 
shortly  by  her  side  saying  "Twice  you  have  slain  me  and  I  have  come 
back  to  life." 

Once  again  she  sought  to  slay  him  but  failed  to  kill  the  vital  prin 
ciple  and  so  she  had  only  succeeded  in  taking  a  few  stitches  in  the  work 
when  Coyote  was  back  again. 

This  time  she  smashed  him  all  to  pieces  and  mixed  him  with  earth 
and  ground  him  to  powder  and  then  scattered  the  powder  in  every 
direction.  But,  after  considerable  trouble,  Coyote  managed  to  gather 


24  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

together  his  scattered  corpus  and  returned  to  his  basket  making 
maiden,  who  soon  thereafter  became  his  wife. 

From  another  legend,  however,  we  learn  that  it  was  a  family  or 
clan  called  Dsiltlani,  who  joined  the  Navahoes  in  the  early  days  of  the 
nation's  history,  who  taught  their  women  how  to  make  wicker  water- 
bottles,  carrying  baskets,  etc. 

Yeitso,  the  tallest,  fiercest,  and  most  dreadful  of  the  alien  gods  of 
the  Navaho  never  travelled  without  carrying  a  basket.  Yeitso  was  $ 
singular  being,  born  a  monster  at  a  time  when  the  Navaho  men  and 
women  were  living  apart.  During  this  period  of  separation  both  sexes 
indulged  in  evil  and  vile  practices  and  Yeitso  was  the  fruit  of  the  evil 
doing  of  his  mother.  He  was  slain  by  two  mythical  heroes  who  took 
his  scalp  and  broken  arrows  to  their  home  in  his  own  basket. 

The  Navahoes  have  an  interesting  legend  which  they  connect  with 
the  carrying  basket,  Fig.  18.  In  the  early  days  of  the  world's  history 
one  of  their  mythical  heroes  was  seized  by  a  flying  monster  and  carried 
up  to  a  dangerous  ledge  on  a  high  mountain  in  New  Mexico.  He  sue- 


FIG.    20.      PAIUTI    WATER    BOTTLE. 
THE    TUSJEH    OF    THE    NAVAHO. 


PIGS.    18    AND    19.      HOPI    BASKET 
AND    METHOD    OF    WEAVE. 


ceeded  in  killing  the  monster  and  its  mate  but  was  unable  to  get  down 
from  his  perilous  position.  Just  then  he  saw  the  Bat  Woman  (one  of 
the  mythical  characters  of  the  Navahoes)  walking  along  the  base  of 
the  cliff.  After  a  good  deal  of  persuasion  she  consented  to  come  up 
and  carry  him  down  in  her  basket,  but  she  required  that  he  should  close 
his  eyes  before  she  did  so.  Before  he  closed  his  eyes  he  saw  that  the 
large  carrying  basket  was  held  upon  her  back  by  strings  as  thin  as  those 
of  a  spider's  web.  "Grandmother,"  he  said,  "I  fear  to  enter  your  bas 
ket  ;  the  strings  are  too  thin."  "Have  no  fear,"  she  replied,  "I  have 
carried  a  whole  deer  in  this  basket ;  the  strings  are  strong  enough  to 
bear  you."  Still  he  hesitated  and  still  she  assured  him.  The  fourth  time 


BASKETRY    IN   INDIAN    LEGEND.  2 

that  he  expressed  his  fear  she  said :  "Fill  the  basket  with  stones  and 
you  will  see  that  I  speak  the  truth."  He  did  as  he  was  bidden  and  she 
danced  around  with  the  loaded  basket  on  her  back ;  but  the  strings  did 
not  break,  though  they  twanged  like  bowstrings.  When  he  entered 
the  basket  she  bade  him  keep  his  eyes  shut  until  they  reached  the 
bottom  of  the  cliff,  as  he  must  not  see  how  she  managed  to  descend. 
He  shut  his  eyes  and  soon  felt  himself  gradually  going  down ;  but 
he  heard  a  strange  flapping  against  the  rock,  which  so  excited  his 
curiosity  that  he  opened  his  eyes.  Instantly  he  began  to  fall  with 
dangerous  rapidity,  and  the  flapping  stopped ;  she  struck  him  with  her 
stick  and  bade  him  close  his  eyes.  Again  he  felt  himself  slowly  descend 
ing,  and  the  flapping  against  the  rock  began.  Three  times  more  he 
disobeyed  her,  and  the  last  time  they  were  near  the  bottom  of  the  cliff, 
and  both  fell  to  the  ground  unhurt. 


FIG.  21.  THE  HO-A-PUH  OR  CARRYING  BASKET 
OP  THE  HOPIS  AND  NAVAHOES. 

As  soon  as  they  reached  the  ground  the  hero  and  the  Bat  Woman 
plucked  the  feathers  of  the  winged  monsters  and  placed  them  in  the 
basket.  Before  the  hero  left  the  Bat  Woman  he  cautioned  her  not 
to  pass  through  two  particular  regions,  one  of  which  was  overgrown 
with  weeds  and  the  other  with  sunflowers.  The  Bat  Woman  failed  to 
heed  the  warning  and  as  she  walked  along  through  the  sunflowers  she 
heard  a  rustling  behind  her,  and,  turning,  saw  the  feathers  changing 
into  birds  of  strange  appearance  and  varying  plumage  and  all  swarm 
ing  out  of  her  basket.  She  tried  to  hold  them  in,  to  catch  them  as 
they  flew  out,  but  all  in  vain.  She  laid  down  her  basket  and  watched, 
helplessly,  her  feathers  changing  into  little  birds  of  all  kinds,  wrens, 
warblers,  titmice  and  the  like,  all  flying  away  until  her  basket  was 
empty.  Thus  it  was  that  the  little  birds  were  created. 

In  the  Chaco  Canyon  in  Northern  New  Mexico  are  a  number  of 
interesting  cliff^dwellings  or  pueblo  houses.  In  the  early  days  they 
were  inhabited  by  the  Pueblo  people.  One  day  a  war  eagle  was  seen 
floating  in  the  sky.  The  Pueblos  much  desired  the  feathers  of  the 
eagle,  so  they  watched  where  the  bird  alighted.  When  they  found  the 


26 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


nest  it  was  in  a  cleft  on  the  face  of  a  precipice  and  inaccessible  unless 
one  were  lowered  in  a  basket.  None  of  the  young  men  of  the  Pueblos 
was  willing  to  risk  his  life  in  the  attempt  and  they  finally  persuaded  a 
poor  Navaho,  afterwards  named  Kinniki,  to  make  the  effort  on  their 
behalf.  A  great,  strong  carrying  basket  was  made,  somewhat  after 
the  style  of  Fig.  21,  and  the  Navaho  got  inside  it  and  was  lowered  to 
the  eagle's  nest.  He  was  told  to  drop  the  eagles  to  the  ground  below, 
but  the  Wind  whispered  to  him  that  the  Pueblos  were  his  enemies^ 
and  he  had  better  not  obey  their  behests.  He  heeded  the  warning  of 
the  Wind  and  called  out  to  those  above :  "Swing  the  basket  so  that  it 
may  come  nearer  to  the  cliff.  I  cannot  reach  the  nest  unless  you  do." 
So  they  caused  the  basket  to  swing  to  and  fro  and  when  it  touched  the 
cliff  the  Navaho  stepped  out  leaving  the  empty  basket  swinging  in  the 
air. 


FIG.  22.   HOPI  BASKET;  MADE  OF  YUCCA. 

The  Pueblos  were  very  angry  when  they  found  out  the  trick  that 
had  been  played  upon  them,  and  they  tried  to  kill  the  Navaho  by  shoot 
ing  fire  arrows  to  the  nest.  For  four  days  he  stayed  here  starv 
ing,  keeping  himself  warm  at  night  by  sleeping  between  the  two  young 
eaglets. 

Then  the  eagles  came  home  and  they  took  him  up  to  the  upper 
world  above  the  sky.  He  learned  all  the  wonderful  songs,  prayers, 
sacrifices  and  ceremonies  of  the  eagles,  which  are  now  practiced  by 
the  Navahoes  in  one  of  their  great  rites. 

Now  he  returned  to  earth,  and  soon  thereafter  visited  the  treacher 
ous  people  of  Kintyel,  upon  whom  he  took  a  singular  and  appropriate 
vengeance. 

Another  typical  hero  of  the  Navahoes  was  Na-ti-nes-thani — He  who 
Teaches  Himself.  He  was  a  great  gambler,  and  after  he  had  gambled 
away  all  his  possessions,  he  left  his  home  for  some  far  away  country 
in  the  hope  of  bettering  his  fortunes. 


BASKETRY   IN    INDIAN    LEGEND.  2? 

After  wonderful  adventures  he  came  to  the  home  of  a  wicked  wizard, 
who  was  a  cannibal,  and  whose  own  daughter  was  also  his  wife.  This 
vile  creature  introduced  Natinesthani  to  his  daughter  as  his  son-injlaw, 
for  he  wished  him  to  stay,  so  that  he  might  slay  and  eat  him.  The 
wizard  insisted  upon  smoking  some  of  his  son-in-law's  tobacco,  but 
it  sent  him  into  a  swoon  which  seemed  so  like  death  that  his  wife  and 
daughter  besought  Natinesthani  to  restore  him  to  life.  Four  times 
this  occurred,  then  the  wizard  determined  to  get  rid  of  his  son-in-law. 
The  former  induced  his  daughter  to  take  a  sacred  basket  rilled  with 
mush,  together  with  other  food,  to  her  husband,  in  which  he  had 
placed  poison  next  to  the  a-tha-at-lo  or  finishing  point  on  the  rim. 
By  craft  the  stranger  avoided  eating  the  poison,  for  the  Wind  People 
had  warned  him  of  it.  When  his  wife  presented  the  basket  to  him,  she 
said:  "When  a  stranger  visits  us  we  always  expect  him  to  eat  from 
the  part  of  the  basket  where  it  is  finished."  He  replied :  "It  is  my  cus 
tom  to  eat  from  the  edge  oppposite  the  point  of  finish."  He  thus 
escaped  the  poison. 

When  the  young  woman  told  her  father  he  saw  that  he  must  try 
again,  so  the  next  day  he  sent  his  daughter  with  a  dish  of  stewed  ven 
ison  and  a  basket  full  of  mush.  But  as  the  young  man  took  it  the  Wind 
People  warned  him  that  there  was  poison  all  around  the  edge  of  the, 
basket,  so  this  time  he  ate  freely  of  the  stew,  but,  when  he  took  the 
basket  of  mush  he  said:  "When  I  eat  just  as  the  sun  is  about  to  come 
up,  it  is  my  custom  to  eat  only  from  the  middle  of  the  basket."  The 
following  day  both  stew  and  mush  were  brought  him,  but  as  the 
Wind  People  whispered  to  him  and  told  him  that  poison  was  mixed 
all  through  the  mush,  he  said  to  his  wife :  "I  may  eat  no  mush  to-day. 
The  sun  has  already  risen,  and  I  have  sworn  that  the  sun  shall  never 
see  me  eat  mush."  On  the  fourth  morning  the  wicked  father-in-law 
poisoned  both  stew  and  mush,  but  being  warned  as  usual  by  the 
Wind  People,  the  young  man  said  to  his  wife :  "I  do  not  eat  at  all  to 
day.  It  is  my  custom  to  eat  no  food  one  day  in  every  four.  This  is 
the  day  that  I  must  fast." 

After  such  marvellous  proofs  of  power  the  old  man  ceased  his 
attempts  for  awhile ;  but  by  and  by,  he  was  again  filled  with  desire  to 
slay  his  son.  Many  were  the  ruses  that  he  followed,  the  ambuscades 
that  ne  planned,  the  treacheries  he  concocted,  but  Natinesthani  evaded 
them  all.  Finally  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  charms  which  altogether 
destroyed  the  wizard's  power.  Then  he  told  the  wizard  how  he  had  all 
along  known  of  his  nefarious  designs,  and  how  he  had  thwarted  them. 
Fully  exposed,  the  incestuous  wizard  confessed  his  wickedness  and 
begged  forgiveness  and  asked  his  son-in-law  to  cure  him  of  all  his  evil. 
This  was  done  and  thus  the  Feather  Chant  and  Dance  were  inaugurated 
which  continue  to  this  day  as  potent  ceremonies  for  the  confusion  of 
all  the  wizards  and  witches. 

In  the  legends  which  describe  in  detail  the  growth  of  the  Navaho 
nation,  the  accession  of  one  gens  is  thus  accounted  for :  "It  happened 
about  this  time  while  some  of  the  Tha  'paha  were  sojourning  at  Agala, 
that  they  sent  two  children  one  night  to  a  spring  to  get  water.  The 
children  carried  out  with  them  two  wicker  bottles,  see  Fig.  20,  in 
somewhat  the  same  fashion  as  pictured  in  Fig.  23,  but  returned  with 
four.  "Where  did  you  get  these  other  bottles?"  the  parents  inquired. 
"We  took  them  away  from  two  little  girls  whom  we  met  at  the  spring," 


28 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


answered  the  children.  "Why  did  you  do  this,  and  who  are  the  girls?" 
said  the  elders.  "We  do  not  know.  They  are  strangers,"  said  the 
little  ones.  The  parents  at  once  set  out  for  the  spring  to  find  the 
strange  children  and  restore  the  stolen  bottles  to  them;  but  on  the 
way  they  met  the  little  girls  coming  toward  the  Tha  'paha  camp,  and 
asked  them  who  they  were.  The  strange  children  replied :  "We 
belong  to  a  band  of  wanderers  who  are  encamped  on  yonder  moun 
tain.  They  sent  us  two  together  to  find  water."  "Then  we  shall  give 
you  a  name,"  said  the  Tha  'paha ;  "we  shall  call  you  To  'baznaazi — 
Two  Come  Together  for  Water."  The  Tha  'paha  brought  the  little 
girls  to  their  hut  and  bade  them  be  seated.  "Stay  with  us,"  they  said. 


FIG.    23.     APACHE   WOMAN  FIG.  24.     POMA  WOMAN   CARRYING 

CARRYING   WATER    IN  BASKET  BOTTLE.  LOAD    IN    CONICAL   BASKET. 

"You  are  too  weak  and  little  to  carry  the  water  so  far.  We  shall  send 
some  of  our  young  men  to  carry  it  for  you."  When  the  young  men 
found  the  camp  of  the  strangers  they  invited  the  latter  to  visit  them. 
The  Tha  'paha  welcomed  the  newcomers  as  friends,  and  told  them  they 
had  already  a  name  for  them,  To  'baznaazi.  Under  this  name  they 
became  united  to  the  Navahoes  as  a  new  gens,  and  they  are  now  closely 
affiliated  with  Tha  'paha. 

One  of  the  chief  legends  of  the  Hopi  is  that  of  Tiyo,  the  mythical 
snake  hero,  and  with  that  is  intimately  associated  the  "Ho-a-puh," 
or  carrying  basket.  (Fig.  21.)  Tiyo's  father  lived  on  a  mountain  near 
the  junction  of  the  San  Juan  and  Colorado  rivers.  The  youth  was 
thoughtful  and  studious  and  was  much  puzzled  to  account  for  the  ever 


BASKETRY   IN   INDIAN    LEGEND.  29 

flowing  away  of  the  water  of  the  Colorado  river.  After  long  'reflection 
he  decided  to  endeavor  to  solve  the  mystery.  His  father  helped  prepare 
a  dry  cottonwood  tree,  hollow  it  out  and  thus  make  a  closed  boat  in 
which  he  could  sail  down  the  river  to  the  discovery  of  its  secret.  To 
keep  him  from  starving  his  mother  and  sister  each  gave  him  a  po-o-ta, 
or  basket  tray  made  of  yucca,  (Fig.  22)  heaped  up  with  food. 

It  was  a  dangerous  trip  but  he  finally  reached  the  end  of  the  journey. 
Here  he  descried  a  small  round  hole  in  the  ground,  and,  hearing  a 
sound,  he  advanced  and  was  saluted  with  the  cordial  greeting  "Um- 
pi-tuh,  my  heart  is  glad ;  I  have  long  been  expecting  you ;  come  down 
into  my  house." 


FIG.   25.     HAVASUPAI   MAKING   BASKET. 


Under  the  direction  of  the  Spider  Woman,  Tiyo  visited  the  under 
world  and  learned  all  the  secret  songs,  prayers,  dances  and  other 
ceremonials  that  are  now  performed  by  the  snake-antelope  fraternity. 
Then  they  went  to  the  Sun  and  learned  much  from  him,  and  after 
several  day's  journeyings  returned  to  the  Snake  Kiva,  where  the  chief 
taught  him  many  things  and  then  bestowed  upon  him  two  maidens. 
Said  he :  "Here  are  two  maidens  who  know  the  charm  which  prevents 
death  from  the  bite  of  the  rattlesnake  ;  take  them  with  you,  and  one  you 
shall  give  to  your  younger  brother." 

Four  days  later  Spider  Woman  made  a  beautiful  hoapuh,  around 


3°  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

which  she  fastened  a  cotton  cord,  and  on  the  fifth  morning  she  placed 
Tiyo  in  it,  with  a  maiden  on  each  side.  She  then  ascended  through  the 
hatch  and  disappeared,  but  soon  a  filament  descended  and  attached 
itself  to  the  cord,  and  the  basket  was  drawn  up  to  the  white  clouds, 
which  sailed  away  to  To-ko-na-bi,  and  there  Spider  Woman  again 
spun  out  her  filament  and  lowered  the  basket  to  the  ground.  Tiyo 
took  the  imaidens  to  his  mother's  house,  and  no  stranger  saw  them 
for  four  days,  and  the  two  brothers  prepared  the  bridal  presents. 

Tiyo  and  his  brother  and  the  two  Snake  maidens  thus  became  the\ 
progenitors  of  the  Snake  and  Antelope  Clans  of  the  Hopi,  who  alone 
perform  the  thrilling  ceremony  which  I  have  elsewhere  fully  de 
scribed.* 


FIG    .26.      POMA    POUNDING    ACORNS    IN    GRANITE 
MORTAR  WITH  BASKET  TOP. 

The  Havasupais  of  the  Havasu  Canyon  have  a  legend  that  they  are 
descended  from  a  daughter  of  Tochopa,  their  good  god,  who,  like 
Tiyo's  father,  fastened  up  his  offspring  in  a  hollowed-out  tree.  But  in 
Tochopa's  case  it  was  because  Hokomata,  the  bad  god,  was  about 
to  drown  the  world.  After  floating  about  for  many  days — so  long, 
indeed,  that  she  grew  from  a  girl  to  a  woman — the  log  settled  at  a 
point  not  far  from  the  junction  of  the  Little  Colorado  with  the  main 
river.  Here,  when  she  emerged  from  the  tree,  everything  was  dark 
and  foggy.  Soon  she  felt  the  desire  for  maternity,  and,  as  the  sun 
slowly  rose  for  the  first  time  upon  the  earth  and  dispelled  the  dark- 

*Scientific  American,  June  24  and  Scot.  9,  1899.    Wide  World  Magazine,  Jan. 
1900.     Outing,  June,  1900. 


BASKETRY    IN    INDIAN    LEGEND. 


ness  and  gloom,  she  determined  that  he  should  be  the  father  of  her 
child.  The  boy  was  born  in  due  time.  Then  maternal  longings  again 
filling  her  breast  she  went  and  conceived  of  the  waterfall,  now  known 
as  Mooney  Fall  in  Havasu  Canyon.  The  offspring  of  this  union  was 
a  daughter. 


FIG.    2tfA.      NAVAHO    WATER    CARRIERS. 

As  the  children  grew  she  sent  the  boy  over  the  Kohonino  basin 
to  hunt,  and  taught  her  daughter  to  make  baskets,  she  herself  having 
been  taught  by  Tochopa  before  the  drowning  of  the  world. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  Havasupais  are  good  basket  makers  and  excel 
so  many  other  weavers  in  the  exercise  of  the  art. 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


PIG.    27.      SACRED    BASKETS    OP    THE    NAVAHOES, 
PIMAS  AND  APACHES.     (Plimpton  Collection.) 


FIG.    28.      DANCE    AND    OTHER    BASKETS    OF    THE 
YOKUTS.     (Plimpton   Collection.) 


BASKETRY  IN   INDIAN   CEREMONIAL.  33 

CHAPTER    IV. 
BASKETRY    IN    INDIAN    CEREMONIAL. 

In  many  Indian  ceremonies  baskets  play  a  most  important  part. 
If  all  these  were  recorded  a  large  volume  would  be  the  result.  A 
few  of  the  most  important  and  best  known  are  here  briefly  given. 

In  one  of  the  great  healing  ceremonies  and  dances  of  the  Navahoes 
the  baskets  shown  in  Figs.  27  and  29  have  a  distinct  place.  One 
or  other  of  these  baskets  must  be  used. 

To  describe  this  wonderfully  weird  and  singular  series  of  ceremonies 
in  full  would  take  up  three-score  pages  of  this  unpretentious  work, 
so  I  must  content  myself  with  giving  the  briefest  synopsis,  merely 
showing  where  the  baskets  are  ceremonially  used.  The  whole  series 
of  dances,  prayers,  songs,  etc.,  are  called  "Hasjelti  Dailjis."  They 
are  conducted  by  one  of  the  leading  shamans  of  the  tribe,  and  only 
the  most  wealthy  can  afford  them,  for  the  cost  is  great,  even  as  high 
as  hundreds,  and  often  two  or  three  thousands,  of  dollars.  For  nine 
days  these  ceremonies  last,  the  first  day  being  devoted  to  the  building 
and  dedication  of  a  medicine  hogan  and  a  sweat  house. 

Around  this  sweat  house  wands  of  turkey  feathers  were  placed, 
which  were  brought  hither  in  one  of  these  sacred  baskets ;  and  when 
the  sweating  process  was  over  the  wands  were  collected,  placed  in 
the  basket  and  removed  to  the  medicine  hogan. 

On  the  fourth  day  two  of  these  baskets  figured  prominently  in  the 
ceremonies.  A  medicine  basket  containing  amole  root  and  water  was 
placed  in  front  of  a  circle  made  of  sand  and  covered  with  pine  boughs. 
A  second  basket  contained  water  and  a  quantity  of  pine  needles  suf 
ficiently  thick  to  form  a  dry  surface,  and  on  the  top  of  these  needles 
a  number  of  valuable  necklaces  of  coral,  turquoise  and  silver  were 
placed.  A  square  was  formed  on  the  edge  of  the  basket  with  four 
of  the  turkey  wands  before  mentioned.  The  song  priest  with  rattle 
led  several  priests  in  singing.  The  invalid  sat  to  the  northeast  of 
the  circle,  a  breech  cloth  his  only  apparel.  During  the  chanting  an 
attendant  made  suds  by  macerating  the  amole  and  beating  it  up  and 
down  in  the  water.  The  basket  remained  in  position ;  the  man  stooped 
over  it,  facing  north ;  his  position  allowed  the  sunbeams  which  came 
through  the  fire  opening  to  fall  upon  the  suds.  When  the  basket 
was  a  mass  of  white  froth  the  attendant  washed  the  suds  from  his 
hands  by  pouring  water  from  a  Paiuti  basket  water-bottle  (Fig.  20) 
over  them,  after  which  the  song  priest  came  forward  and  with  corn 
pollen  drew  a  cross  over  the  suds,  which  stood  firm  like  the  beaten 
whites  of  eggs,  the  arms  of  the  cross  pointing  to  the  cardinal  points. 
A  circle  of  the  pollen  was  then  made  around  the  edge  of  the  suds." 
This  crossing  and  circling  of  the  basket  of  suds  with  the  pollen  is 
supposed  to  give  them  additional  power  in  restoring  the  invalid  to 
health.  The  invalid  now  knelt  upon  the  pinion  boughs  in  the  center 
of  the  same  circle.  "A  handful  of  the  suds  was  placed  on  his  head. 
The  basket  was  now  placed  near  to  him,  and  he  bached  his  head 
thoroughly ;  the  maker  of  the  suds  afterwards  assisted  him  in  bathing 
the  entire  body  with  the  suds,  and  pieces  of  yucca  were  rubbed  upon 


34 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


the  body.  The  chant  continued  through  the  ceremony  and  closed 
just  as  the  remainder  of  the  suds  was  emptied  by  the  attendant  over 
the  invalid's  head.  The  song  priest  collected  the  four  wands  from  the 
second  basket,  and  an  attendant  gathered  the  necklaces ;  a  second 
attendant  placed  the  basket  before  the  invalid,  who  was  now  sitting 
in  the  center  of  the  circle,  and  the  first  attendant  assisted  him  in  bath 
ing  the  entire  body  with  this  mixture ;  the  body  was  quite  covered 
with  the  pine  needles,  which  had  become  very  soft  from  soaking. 
The  invalid  then  returned  to  his  former  position  at  the  left  of  the- 
song  priest,  and  the  pine  needles  of  the  yucca,  or  amole,  together 
with  the  sands,  were  carried  out  and  deposited  at  the  foot  of  a  pinion 


FIG.  29.     NAVAHO  SACRED  BASKET. 

tree.  The  body  of  the  invalid  was  dried  by  rubbing  with  meal."  This 
taking  out  of  the  sands,  pine  needles,  etc.,  used  in  the  ceremony  was 
supposed  to  take  away  so  much  of  the  disease  that  had  been  washed 
from  the  invalid. 

Later  in  the  day  at  another  most  elaborate  ceremony  baskets  filleu 
with  food  are  placed  in  a  circle  around  a  fire  in  the  medicine  lodge. 
One  of  the  priests  takes  a  pinch  of  food  from  each  basket,  and  places 
it  in  another  basket.  This  is  then  prayed  over,  smoked  over  and 
thus  made  a  powerful  medicine  by  the  song-priest.  After  the  priest 
has  gone  through  several  performances  with  it,  the  invalid  dips  his 
three  first  fingers  into  the  mixture,  puts  them  in  his  mouth,  and 
loudly  sucks  in  the  air.  This  is  repeated  four  times.  Then  all  the 


BASKETRY    IN    INDIAN   CEREMONIAL.  35 

attendants  do  likewise,  with  a  prayer  for  rain,  good  crops,  health  and 
riches.  This  food  is  afterwards  dried  by  the  chief  medicine  man, 
made  into  a  powder,  and  is  one  of  his  most  potent  medicines. 

On  the  sixth  day  a  great  sand  painting  is  made  in  the  medicine 
lodge,  and  the  invalid,  as  he  enters,  is  required  to  take  the  sacred 
medicine  basket,  which  is  now  filled  with  sacred  meal,  and  sprinkle 
the  painting  with  it.  The  chief  figures  of  the  painting  were  the  god 
desses  of  the  rainbow,  whose  favor  it  was  desired  he  should  gain. 
Again  and  again  in  the  ceremonies  these  sacred  baskets  are  used, 
and  on  the  ninth  day  in  the  concluding  dance  the  invalid  takes  it  full 
of  sacred  meal  and  sprinkles  all  the  dancers.  The  full  description  of 
this  wonderful  series  of  ceremonies  is  found  in  the  Eighth  Annual 
Report  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

If  the  margin  is  worn  through  or  torn,  the  basket  is  unfit  for  sacred 
use.  The  basket  is  one  of  the  perquisites  of  the  shaman  when  the 
rites  are  done ;  but  he,  in  turn,  must  give  it  away,  and  must  be  careful 
never  to  eat  out  of  it.  Notwithstanding  its  sacred  uses,  food  may 
be  served  in  it  by  any  other  person  than  the  shaman  who  has  used 
it  ceremonially. 


FIG     30.      CIRCLE    OF   MEAL 
IN   NAVAHO  WEDDING  BASKET. 

Fig.  29  shows  the  other  form  of  Navaho  sacred  basket.  It  is  also 
made  of  aromatic  sumac,  and  is  used  in  the  rites  to  hold  sacred  meal. 
The  crosses  are  said  to  represent  clouds,  heavy  with  rain,  and  would 
indicate  that  this  basketry  design  may  have  had  its  origin  in  its  use 
during  ceremonies  intended  to  bring  the  rain. 

Another  important  ceremony  of  the  Navahoes  in  which  this  basket 
figures  is  that  of  marriage. 

A.  M.  Stephen  thus  describes  the  wedding  custom:  "On  the 
night  set  for  the  wedding  both  families  and  their  friends  meet  at  the 
hut  of  the  bride's  family.  Here  there  are  much  feasting  and  singing, 
and  the  bride's  family  make  return  presents  to  the  bridegroom's  people, 
but  not,  of  course,  to  the  same  amount.  The  women  of  the  bride's 
family  prepare  corn  meal  porridge,  which  is  poured  into  the  basket. 
The  bride's  uncle  then  sprinkles  the  sacred  blue  pollen  of  the  larkspur 
upon  the  porridge,  forming  a  design  as  in  Fig.  30. 

The  bride  has  hitherto  been  lying  beside  her  mother,  concealed 
under  a  blanket,  on  the  woman's  side  of  the  hogan  (hut).  After  call 
ing  to  her  to  come  to  him,  her  uncle  seats  her  on  the  west  side  of 
the  hut,  and  the  bridegroom  sits  down  before  her,  with  his  face 
toward  hers,  and  the  basket  of  porridge  set  between  them.  A  gourd 


36  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

of  water  is  then  given  to  the  bride,  who  pours  some  of  it  on  the 
bridegroom's  hands  while  he  washes  them,  and  he  then  performs  a 
like  office  for  her.  With  the  first  two  fingers  of  the  right  hand  he 
then  takes  a  pinch  of  porridge,  just  where  the  line  of  pollen  touches 
the  circle  of  the  east  side.  He  eats  this  one  pinch,  and  the  bride  dips 
with  her  fingers  from  the  same  place.  He  then  takes  in  succession 
a  pinch  from  the  other  places  where  the  lines  touch  the  circle  and  a 
final  pinch  from  the  center,  the  bride's  fingers  following  his.  Thev 
basket  of  porridge  is  then  passed  over  to  the  younger  guests,  who' 
speedily  devour  it  with  merry  clamor,  a  custom  analagous  to  dividing 
the  bride's  cake  at  a  wedding.  The  elder  relatives  of  the  couple  now 
give  them  much  good  and  weighty  advice,  and  the  marriage  is  com 
plete." 

In  Navaho  ceremonies  that  I  have  witnessed  the  custom  is  some 
what  different.  The  pollen  is  sprinkled  and  a  pinch  taken  from  each 
quarter  and  from  the  center  by  the  shaman  or  medicine  man  and  by 
him  breathed  upon  and  thrown  to  the  corresponding  cardinal  points, 
N.  W.  S.  E.  and  here,  thus  propitiating  the  powers  of  all  the  universe. 
Then,  handing  the  bowl  to  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  they,  in  the 
presence  of  the  assembled  guests,  begin  at  the  point  where  the  line 
touches  the  east,  and  each  take  a  pinch  of  the  porridge  and  eat  it, 
the  bride  going  one  way  and  the  bridegroom  the  other,  until  their 
fingers  meet  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bowl.  Then  the  marriage  is 
complete,  and  the  rest  of  the  porridge  is  handed  to  the  guests. 

Mr.  G.  H.  Pepper,  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
New  York,  has  seen  a  Navaho  wedding  ceremony  conducted  in  a 
different  manner  from  either  of  these  described.  On  this  occasion 
he  learned  that  a  little  Indian  girl  was  at  the  point  of  death,  having 
been  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake  while  collecting  pollen  from  growing 
corn.  Pollen  is  the  Navaho  symbol  of  fertility,  and  its  use  in  a 
marriage  ceremony  is  naturally  obvious.  Although  the  child  was 
so  dangerously  ill,  Mr.  Pepper  says  the  marriage  ceremony  went  on, 
regardless  of  her  condition.  A  small  amount  of  corn  meal  was  taken 
and  slightly  moistened  and  then  mixed  together.  This  half  dry,  half 
wet  meal  was  then  sprinkled  in  four  lines  across  the  empty  wedding 
basket,  dividing  it  into  four  equal  parts.  At  the  end  of  each  line  a 
small  ball  of  the  meal  was  placed,  as  well  as  one  in  the  center.  This 
done,  all  was  ready  for  the  ceremony.  The  bridegroom,  who  up  to 
this  time  had  been  outside  the  hogan  with  his  friends,  now  came  in 
and  sat  down.  Then  the  mother  of  the  bride  brought  to  the  groom 
a  wicker  or  gourd  bottle  full  of  water,  with  which  he  advanced,  and, 
as  the  bride  held  out  her  hands,  he  poured  the  water  over  while  she 
washed  them.  This  done,  the  bride  took  the  water  bottle  and  poured 
water  over  his  hands.  Now  the  couple  sat  down  on  the  west  side 
of  the  hogan,  and  in  full  view  of  all  present.  The  bridegroom  then 
took  the  wedding  basket  in  his  hands,  holding  it  with  the  shipapu 
opening  turned  towards  the  east.  Then,  taking  a  small  pinch  of  meal 
from  the  end  of  the  line  which  terminated  towards  the  east,  he  put  it  in 
the  bride's  mouth.  The  bride  then  took  a  pinch  and  fed  the  groom 
in  like  manner,  after  which  groom  and  bride  alternately  took  a  pinch, 
each  feeding-  it  to  the  other,  from  each  of  the  lines  in  succession, 
and  finally  from  the  center.  This  done,  the  ceremony  was  completed. 
In  his  preoccupation  with  the  sick  child  Mr.  Pepper  does  not  remem- 


BASKETRY   IN   INDIAN   CEREMONIAL.  37 

her  whether  the  pinches  of  meal  were  taken  from  the  lines  beginning 
East  and  continuing  North,  West  and  South  or  the  other  way.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  elsewhere  I  have  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
as  a  rule  the  ceremonial  circuit  of  the  Indians  of  the  Southwest  is 
always  East,  North,  West  and  South,  which  is  describing  a  circle  in 
the  backward  way  from  that  generally  followed  by  white  men. 

Another  interesting  thing  about  this  Navaho  wedding  basket  it  is 
well  to  notice,  and  that  is  that  the  finishing  off  of  the  last  coil  of  the 
basketry  always  comes  directly  opposite  to  the  Shipapu  opening. 
This  is  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  those  who  use  the  basket  at 
night  to  determine  where  the  Shipapu  opening  is,  so  that  they  may 
hold  the  basket  in  the  proper  ceremonial  way,  which  requires  that 
the  Shipapu  opening  shall  always  be  turned  towards  the  East.  This 
finishing  off  place  on  the  rim  of  the  basket  is  called  by  the  Navahoes 
the  a-tha-at-lo. 

According  to  Matthews,  the  sacred  basket  used  in  all  these  cere 
monials  has  another  important  function  to  perform.  It  is  used  as  a 
drum.  He  says :  "In  none  of  the  ancient  Navaho  rites  is  a  regular 
drum  or  tomtom  employed.  The  inverted  basket  serves  the  purpose 
of  one,  and  the  way  in  which  it  is  used  for  this  simple  object  is  ren 
dered  devious  and  difficult  by  ceremonious  observances." 

Then  over  a  page  of  description  is  required  to  tell  how  the  shamans 
proceed  when  they  "turn  down  the  basket"  to  make  a  drum  of  it 
at  the  beginning  of  the  songs,  and  "turn  up  the  basket"  at  the  close. 
Everything  is  done  with  elaborate  ceremony.  "There  are  songs  for 
turning  up  and  turning  down  the  basket,  and  there  are  certain  words 
in  these  songs  at  which  the  shaman  prepares  to  turn  up  the  basket 
by  putting  his  hand  under  its  eastern  rim,  and  other  words  at  which 
he  does  the  turning.  For  four  nights,  when  the  basket  is  turned 
down,  the  eastern  part  is  laid  on  the  outstretched  blanket  first,  and 
it  is  inverted  toward  the  west.  On  the  fifth  night  it  is  inverted  in  the 
opposite  direction.  When  it  is  turned  up,  it  is  always  lifted  first  at 
the  eastern  edge.  As  it  is  raised  an  imaginary  something  is  blown 
toward  the  east,  in  the  direction  of  the  smoke-hole  of  the  lodge,  and 
when  it  is  completely  turned  up  hands  are  waved  in  the  same  direction, 
to  drive  out  the  evil  influences  which  the  sacred  songs  have  collected 
and  imprisoned  under  the  basket." 

Even  in  the  making  of  this  sacred  basket  many  ceremonial  require 
ments  must  be  heeded.  In  forming  the  helical  coil,  the  fabricator  must 
always  put  the  butt  end  of  the  twig  toward  the  center  of  the  basket 
and  the  tip  end  toward  the  periphery,  in  accordance  with  the  cere 
monial  laws  governing  the  disposition  of  butts  and  tips. 

This  same  basket  is  often  called  an  Apache  Medicine  Basket.  Its 
use  by  the  Apaches  seems  somewhat  singular,  as  they  themselves  are 
expert  basket  makers.  The  explanation  of  its  use  by  their  shamans 
was  given  to  ime  by  a  medicine  man  as  follows :  On  one  occasion  a 
great  Navaho  shaman  was  present  and  assisted  his  Apache  brother 
in  a  healing  ceremony  of  great  importance.  A  noted  and  wealthy 
personage  was  very  sick,  and  no  expense  was  spared  to  restore  him 
to  health.  The  Apache  medicine  man  sent  for  the  Navaho,  and 
among1  the  paraphernalia  of  the  latter  was  this  basket.  The  cere 
monies  over,  the  patient  recovered,  and  when  the  Apache  thanked 
his  Navaho  coadjutor  and  asked  for  the  secret  of  his  power  he  was 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


3 

H 
p 


BASKETRY   IN    INDIAN    CEREMONIAL.  39 

told,  among  other  things,  that  the  basket  was  "heap  good  medicine." 
From  that  day  to  this  there  are  few  Apache  medicine  men  who  do 
not  count  a  Paiuti  basket  as  one  of  the  indispensable  articles  of 
their  craft ;  for,  as  I  have  elsewhere  explained,  this  celebrated  basket 
is  seldom  made  by  any  other  than  a  Paiuti. 

Among  many  tribes  baskets  are  used  for  placing  food  at  the  graves 
of  the  dead.  The  Hopi  believe  that  departed  spirits  linger  around 
their  own  graves,  and  with  a  pathetic  simplicity,  that  is  as  beautiful 
as  it  is  useless,  their  mourning  friends  place  offerings  of  bread  and 
other  foods  in  baskets  and  bowls,  that  the  dead  loved  ones  may  not 
hunger  while  they  still  hover  around  their  earthly  remains.  Around 


FIG.  32.     ANTELOPE  ALTAR,  SHOWING 

KOHONINO    BASKET    IN    WHICH 

CHARM   LIQUID    IS   MADE. 


FIG.    33.      FRAYING    AT    THE 
SHRINE    OF   THE 
SPIDER   WOMAN. 


the  Hopi  villages,  graves  are  seen  where  the  burials  are  in  clefts  of 
the  rocks,  which  are  then  filled  up  with  large  stones.  Upon  these  are 
the  baskets  and  crockery  bowls  in  which  food  is  placed  for  the 
departed. 

The  accompanying  engraving  is  of  the  Antelope  Altar  at  Shipau- 
luvi  and  shows  how  the  coiled  plaques  are  used  for  holding  the 
bahos  or  prayer  sticks  of  the  Hopis  in  their  secret  ceremonials  of 
the  Kiva.  These  ceremonials  are  connected  with  the  observance  of 
the  Snake  Dance,  which,  as  I  have  elsewhere  described,  is  a  prayer 
for  rain.  Baskets  have  no  unimportant  part  to  play  in  various  por 
tions  of  this  ceremony. 

The  Snake  Charm  Liquid  is  made  in  a  Havasupai  basket,  shown 
in  Fig.  32.  This  is  placed  in  the  center  of  a  special  altar,  made  for 
the  purpose.  In  it  are  dropped  some  shells,  charms,  and  a  few  pieces 
of  crushed  nuts  and  sticks.  Then  one  of  the  priests,  with  considerable 
ritual,  pours  into  the  basket  from  north,  west,  south,  east,  up  and 
down  (the  six  cardinal  points  of  the  Hopi)  liquid  from  a  gourd  vessel. 
By  this  time  all  the  priests  are  squatted  around  the  basket,  chewing 
something  that  one  of  the  older  priests  had  given  them.  This  chewed 
substance  is  then  placed  in  the  liquid  of  the  basket.  Water  from 
gourds  on  the  roof  is  also  put  in. 

Now  all  is  ready  for  the  preparation  of  the  charm.  Each  priest 
holds  in  his  hand  the  snake  whip  (a  stick  to  which  eagle  feathers 
are  attached),  while  the  ceremonial  pipe-lighter,  after  lighting  the 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


40 

sacred  pipe,  hands  it  to  the  chief  priest,  addressing  him  in  terms  of 
relationship.  Smoking  it  in  silence  the  chief  puffs  the  smoke  into 
the  liquid  and  hands  it  to  his  neighbor,  who  does  the  like  and  passes 
it  on.  All  thus  participate  in  solemn  silence. 


FIG. 


HOPI     BASKET,     FROM     ORAIBI,     WITH 
SPIDER   WEB    PATTERN. 


Then  the  chief  priest  picks  up  his  rattle  and  begins  a  prayer  which 
is  as  fervent  as  one  could  desire.  Shaking  the  rattle,  all  the  priests 
commence  to  sing  a  weird  song  in  rapid  time,  while  one  of  them 


FIG.  35      HOPI  SACRED  MEAL  PLAQUE,  MADE  OF  YUCCA. 

holds  upright  in  the  middle  of  the  basket  a  black  stick,  on  the  top 
of  which  is  tied  a  feather.  Moving  their  snake  whips  to  and  fro, 
they  sing  four  songs,  when  one  of  the  chiefs  picks  up  all  the  objects 
on  the  altar  and  places  them  in  the  basket. 


BASKETRY    IN    INDIAN    CEREMONIAL.  41 

In  a  moment  the  kiva  rings  with  the  fierce  yells  of  the  Hopi  war- 
cry,  while  the  priest  vigorously  stirs  the  mixture  in  the  basket.  And 
the  rapid  song  is  sung  while  the  priest  stirs  and  kneads  the  contents 
of  the  basket  with  his  hands.  Sacred  meal  is  cast  into  the  'mixture, 
while  the  song  sinks  to  low  tones,  and  gradually  dies  away  altogether, 
though  the  quiet  shaking  of  the  rattles  and  gentle  tremor  of  the  snake 
whips  continue  for  a  short  time. 

A  most  painful  silence  follows.  The  hush  is  intense,  the  stillness 
perfect.  It  is  broken  by  the  prayer  of  the  chief  priest,  who  sprinkles 
more  sacred  meal  into  the  mixture.  Others  do  the  same.  The  liquid 
is  again  stirred,  and  then  sprinkled  to  all  the  cardinal  points,  and  the 
same  is  done  in  the  air  outside,  above  the  kiva. 

Then  the  stirring  priest  takes  some  white  earth,  and  mixing  it  with 
the  charm  liquid,  makes  white  paint,  which  he  rubs  upon  the  breast, 


FIG.    36.      WOMEN    WITH    HO1?J    AND    HAVAHUPA1     PASKETS 
SPRINKLING   SNAKES  WITH   SACRED   MEAL. 

back,  cheeks,  forearms,  and  legs  of  the  chief  priest.  All  the  other 
priests  are  then  likewise  painted. 

Now  there  is  nothing  whatever  in  this  liquid  that  can  either  charm 
a  snake  or  preserve  an  Indian  from  the  deadly  nature  of  its  bite. 
Even  the  Hopis  know  that  all  its  virtue  is  communicated  in  the 
ceremonies  I  have  so  imperfectly  and  inadequately  described.  I  make 
this  explanation  lest  my  reader  assume  there  is  some  subtle  poison 
used  in  this  mixture,  which,  if  given  to  the  snakes,  stupefies  them  and 
renders  them  unable  to  do  injury. 

At  a  certain  place  in  the  nine  days'  ceremonies  of  the  Snake- 
Antelope  Kivas,  which  precede  the  open  air  Snake  Dance,  now  so  well 
known,  another  kind  of  basket  is  used  as  shown  in  Fig.  34.  In  this  the 
color  splints  are  so  arranged  in  lines  radiating  from  a  common  centre, 
and  divided  by  cross  lines,  as  rudely  to  imitate  the  spider's  web. 
Among  the  Cahuillas  of  Southern  California  this  is  purely  imitative, 


42  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

but  with  the  Hopis  it  has  a  meaning  of  profound  religious  significance. 
Before  rain  can  descend  the  clouds  must  exist.  These,  according  to 
Hopi  mythology,  are  woven  by  the  spider  woman — Ko-kyan-wuh-ti — 
and,  to  propitiate  her,  offerings  are  ceremonially  'made  at  her  shrine 
prior  to  the  dance  by  the  chief  priest  of  the  Antelope  Fraternity. 
(See  Fig.  33.)  Devout  women  of  the  tribe  also  seek  to  propitiate  her 
by  prayers,  offerings  and  other  things  that  will  please  her,  and  one 
of  these  ways  is  to  weave  the  spider's  web  into  the  basket  and  present 
to  her  bahos — prayer  sticks — upon  this  sacred  and  personal  symbol. 
The  so-called  sacred  meal  trays  of  the  Hopi,  whether  of  willow  or 
yucca,  often  bear  this  spider  web  design. 

In  the  open  air  dance  a  score  or  more  of  married  women  and  maid 
ens  may  be  seen — the  former  distinguishable  by  the  hair  rolls  on  each 
side  of  the  face,  and  the  latter  by  the  big  whorls  over  each  ear — hold 
ing  in  their  hands  baskets  or  plaques  of  sacred  meal.  This  meal  is 
reverently  sprinkled  on  dancers  and  snakes  as  they  pass  by,  and  here 
and  there  an  old  woman  may  be  seen  wandering  about  on  the  edge 
of  the  dance  circle  ready  to  sprinkle  any  specially  vicious  reptile  which 
might  otherwise  strike  its  poisonous  fangs  into  the  dancers. 

But  by  far  the  most  important  place  for  the  basket  in  Hopi  ceremon 
ial  is  in  the  Lalakonti  Dance. 

This  is  regularly  performed  in  the  five  villages  of  Oraibi,  Mashong- 
navi,  Shipaluvi,  Shimopavi  and  Walpi,  generally  in  the  month  of 
October.  The  open-air  public  dance,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Snake 
Dance,  is  the  concluding  performance  of  nine  days  of  secret  ceremon 
ials  performed  in  the  underground  "kivas"  of  the  organization  or  sis 
terhood.  The  whole  ceremony  is  known  under  the  name  of  La-la-kon- 
ti.  It  is  the  harvest  festival  of  the  Rain  Cloud  clan,  and  the  basket 
throwers  personify  the  mythic  ancestral  mothers  of  the  clan.  Accord 
ing  to  Hopi  mythology  much  importance  attaches  to  the  primal  ma 
ternal  ancestors  of  each  clan.  Their  good  gifts — such  as  the  rain, 
the  bountiful  harvests,  the  increase  of  their  flocks  and  herds — are 
largely  attributed  either  to  the  beneficent  powers  of  these  maternal 
ancestors  directly  exercised  on  their  behalf,  or  owing  to  the  influence 
they  exert  over  those  who  have  the  powers. 

According  to  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes,  the  chief  ethnologic  authority 
on  the  Hopi,  this  ceremony  was  brought  to  its  present  home  by  va 
rious  Rain  Cloud  clans  that  emigrated  from  the  South.  "When  their 
ancestors  first  came  into  the  Walpi  Valley  the  traditionists  of  the 
clan  declare  the  priests  who  lived  on  the  old  site  of  Walpi  knew  only 
a  few  ceremonies  to  bring  the  rain.  Their  chiefs,  they  declare,,  had 
much  greater  powers  in  this  direction,  for  by  their  magic  they  could 
force  the  gods  which  control  the  rain  and  growth  of  corn  to  do  their 
bidding.  The  Rain  Cloud  clans,  when  they  arrived  at  the  Hopi  mesas, 
practised  a  form  of  the  rain  cult  which  was  much  more  highly  devel 
oped  than  that  of  the  people  which  they  found  living  in  this  region. 
They  were  invited  to  exhibit  their  powers  in  this  direction,  for  rain 
was  sorely  needed  and  a  famine  threatened  them.  The  priests  of  the 
Rain  Cloud  clans  accepted  the  invitation,  and,  it  is  said,  erected  their 
altars  not  far  from  a  spring  now  called  Tawapa.  After  they  had  sung 
their  songs  for  some  time  mist  began  to  form,  then  violent  rains  fell 
and  frightful  lightning,  which  alarmed  the  women  of  Walpi.  The 
legends  state  that  after  this  show  of  power  the  Rain  Cloud  clans  were 


BASKETRY    IN    INDIAN    CEREMONIAL. 


43 


THE    BASKET    THROWERS,  OR    LAKONE    MANAS 


PRIEST    HANDING  OFFERINGS    TO   BASKET  THROWERS 


44  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

invited  to  join  the  Hopi  pueblo,  assimilated  with  the  original  Hopi, 
and  from  that  time  to  the  present  have  always  lived  with  them." 

Excavations  made  by  Dr.  Fewkes  at  Homolobi  and  at  the  Chevelon 
ruins  (Cakwabaiyaki),  about  fifteen  miles  east  of  Winslow,  Arizona, 
near  the  main  line  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railway,  support  the  idea  above 
advanced,  for  large  quantities  of  basketry  similar  to  that  still  made  at 
Oraibi  and  on  the  middle  mesa  were  found,  demonstrating  that  the  . 
inhabitants  ot  these  villages  were  expert  basket  makers.  As  before 
noted,  no  Hopi  baskets  are  made  on  the  first  mesa,  the  chief  town  of 
which  is  Walpi,  and  yet  nowhere  is  this  basket  dance  celebrated  with 
greater  elaboration  than  at  that  city,  where  not  a  single  known  woman 
is  a  basket  maker. 

Now  to  a  brief  description  of  the  dance.*  It  is  a  women's  cere 
mony  and  the  participants  may  be  divided  into  two  groups,  the  basket 
bearers  (or  chorus  and  dancers)  and  the  basket  throwers  (lakone 
manas).  The  only  man  participant  is  a  priest  called  lakone  taka.  The 
illustrations,  made  by  Mr.  G.  L.  Rose,  of  Pasadena,  Cal.,  are  of  the 
dance  at  Oraibi  in  1898. 

There  were  about  forty  basket  bearers,  consisting  of  women  ot  all 
ages — married  women,  maids  and  young  girls.  Each  wore  an  elabor 
ate  headdress  that  has  a  distinct  significance.  The  chief  priestesses 
led  the  procession,  the  girls  closing  the  line  as  it  entered  the  dance 
plaza.  Each  woman  carried  a  flat  basket,  which  she  held  vertically 
in  both  hands  by  the  rim,  so  that  the  concave  side  was  outermost. 
After  marching  into  the  plaza,  a  circle  was  formed  by  the  women,  and 
all  sang  in  chorus  a  song,  parts  of  which  were  not  audible.  As  the 
song  continued  the  baskets  were  slowly  raised,  first  to  one  breast, 
then  to  the  other,  and  then  brought  slowly  downward  to  the  level  of 
the  hips,  in  cadence  with  the  songs.  At  the  same  time  the  body  was 
slightly  inclined  forward,  but  the  feet  were  not  raised  from  the  ground. 

In  the  meantime  the  basket  throwers  were  going  through  a  separate 
religious  ceremony  with  the  priest,  as  pictured  in  the  accompanying 
engravings. 

Now  the  throwers,  led  by  the  priest,  approached  the  circle,  and 
soon  untied  the  bundles  which  they  bore  on  their  backs,  and  took 
positions  within  the  ring  of  basket  throwers  diametrically  opposite  each 
other.  Each  held  a  basket  aloft,  making  a  movement  as  if  to  hurl  it 
in  the  air.  She  did  not  cast  it,  however,  but  crossed  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  ring,  exchanging  position  with  the  woman  facing  her. 
Groups  of  men  outside  the  ring  of  basket  bearers  among  the  spectators 
shouted  to  the  basket  throwers  for  the  baskets.  Finally  they  threw 
them,  one  after  another,  until  none  were  left,  and  with  wild  shouts  the 
lads  and  men  struggled  for  them,  as  seen  in  the  engraving. 

In  these  good  natured  scuffles  the  basket  was  often  torn  to  pieces 
and  the  clothing  of  the  young  men  almost  torn  from  their  backs. 

The  women  leave  the  plaza  after  the  baskets  are  thrown,  but  the 
struggle  for  them  often  continues  for  a  long  time. 

The  Hopi  have  two  other  basket  dances,  one  of  which,  the  Owa- 
kulti,  is  a  worn  down  fragment  of  the  Lalakonti,  and  the  other,  the 
Kohonino  Basket  Dance,  is  slightly  different.  The  Kohonino,  or 

*  For  fuller  description  see  Dr.  Fewkes's  interesting  accounts  in  the  Ameri 
can  Anthropologist,  April  1892,  p.  105,  and  The  Journal  of  American  Folk 
Lore,  April-June,  1899,  p.  81. 


BASKETRY   IN   INDIAN    CEREMONIAL. 


DANCE   OF    BASKET   BEARERS 


STRUGGLE   FOR    BASKETS 


46 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


Havasupais,  of  Cataract  Canyon,  trade  largely  with  the  Hopi,  and  in 
this  dance  Havasupai  (Kohonino)  baskets  alone  are  used.  Six  maids 
with  elaborate  headdresses  and  five  others  with  simple  fillets  of  yucca 
on  their  heads  participated  in  the  dance,  when  it  was  given  as  a 
part  of  the  Mamzrauti  ceremony  at  Walpi,  in  1893.  The  eleven  maids, 
to  the  beating  of  the  drum,  danced  before  a  group  of  women  of  the 
Mamzrau  Society,  moving  the  basket  in  time,  but  there  was  no  throw 
ing  of  the  baskets  as  in  the  Lalakonti.  «,' 
Allen  Seymour,  in  The  Traveler  for  September,  1900,  relates  how  he 
purchased  a  fine  basket  of  a  Yolo  Indian  (Northern  California).  From 
the  photograph  (Fig.  41)  it  can  be  seen  that  the  stitches  are  fine  and 
the  decoration  exquisite.  It  is  small ;  only  eight  inches  across.  About 
the  upper  edge  are  sixty  pieces  of  shell  money  and  the  pendants  are 
of  abalone.  The  upper,  middle  and  lowest  bands  are  of  the  brightest 


FIG.    41.     YOLO    INDIAN    CEREMONIAL    BASKET. 

red  from  the  small  spot  on  the  male  blackbird's  wing,  and  the  two 
intermediate  stripes  are  of  bright  bronze  green  from  the  breast  of  a 
small  local  bird.  After  he  had  arranged  for  its  purchase  Mr.  Seymour 
thus  relates  the  ceremony  of  transfer  to  him  :  "Soon  three  or  four  of 
the  old  men  of  the  camp  came  in  and  ranged  themselves  silently 
around  the  walls.  Then  the  chief  followed.  In  his  left  hand  was  a 
small,  wooden  whistle,  or  'tolkah,'  with  a  long,  red  cord  attached. 
In  his  right  hand  he  held  what  looked  like  a  broomstick  eighteen 
inches  long.  This  was  a  rattle,  or  'sak-ka-tah,'  beautifully  made  of 
elder,  with  the  pith  removed,  and  the  sides  split  down  to  the  handle. 
By  a  slight,  rapid  movement  of  the  wrist  it  produces  a  sound  resembl 
ing  the  warning  of  a  rattlesnake. 

"Facing  me,  in  the  center  of  the  room,  he  placed  the  whistle  to  his 
mouth  and  for  several  minutes  blew  a  succession  of  soft,  varying 
notes,  accompanied  by  a  continuous  rattle.  Then,  dropping  the  whis 
tle,  he  spent  some  ten  minutes  in  chanting  or  intoning,  always  keeping 
up  the  rattle.  All  of  this  time  his  face  and  eyes  were  cast  upward, 


BASKETRY   IN   INDIAN   CEREMONIAL.  47 

with  a  look  of  rapt  devotion,  and  an  occasional  break  in  his  voice 
almost  changing  to  a  sob.  I  am  not  able  to  express  the  gravity  of 
everyone  present.  Then  he  said :  'Two  times  I  give  you  basket ;  you 
no  take  it.  Then  you  take  it.'  Twice,  with  a  long,  mournful  chant 
and  an  extra  rattle,  he  advanced  the  basket,  only  to  withdraw  it. 
The  third  time  his  chant  and  rattle  were  particularly  long  and  suppli 
cating,  and  the  basket  was  placed  in  my  hands,  and  the  priest  became 
a  common  Indian  who  said  'No  more,'  and  the  witnesses  silently  filed 
out,  leaving  me  to  settle  the  material  part  of  the  transfer  with  the 
chief  who  remained." 

A  young  lady,  at  the  ranch  where  he  stopped,  informed  him  that 
some  time  previously  she  had  seen  this  basket  used  in  one  of  their 
ceremonies.  "Silently  approaching  the  circle,  in  which  stood  the  chief 
and  medicine  man,  she  found  they  were,  with  much  low-toned  chant 
ing,  passing  from  hand  to  hand  my  basket,  filled  with  some  white, 
powdered  substance,  of  which  each  partook  in  turn,  after  a  short 
petition  addressed  to  the  sky.  As  soon  as  she  was  seen,  the  basket  was 
hastily  hidden,  and  no  Indian  moved  or  spoke  until  she  had  passed." 

As  one  of  the  chief  and  most  valuable  of  the  earthly  possessions  of 
the  women,  the  basket  used  to  figure  prominently  in  the  Feasts  of  the 
Dead  so  common  among  the  Indians  of  Southern  California.  These 
feasts  are  not  always  conducted  in  the  same  manner,  and  they  are  far 
less  frequent  now  than  formerly,  yet  they  generally  include  a  period  of 
general  wailing  for  the  dead.  Images,  representing  the  dead,  are 
made,  and  these  are  placed  in  positions  around  a  large  oval  shallow 
pit,  in  which  a  fierce  fire  is  kept  burning.  Baskets  and  other  valuable 
or  useless  property  of  the  deceased  are  placed  near  her  image.  In  their 
frenzy  of  grief  the  wailers  jump  to  and  fro  over  the  pit,  emitting  the 
most  horrible  yells,  and  then,  when  all  is  ready,  the  images  are  thrown 
into  the  fire,  tu  be  shortly  followed  by  the  baskets. 

In  this  way  many  most  valuable  and  priceless  specimens  of  the 
weaver's  art  have  been  destroyed,  and  it  is  doubtless  owing  to  an  ap 
peal  having  been  made  to  the  cupidity  of  the  mourners,  as  well  as  to 
their  intelligence,  that  the  practice  is  now  so  nearly  discontinued. 

Thomas  Hill,  the  veteran  artist  of  the  Yosemite  Valley,  recently 
made  a  sketch  of  a  funeral  ceremony  in  which  baskets  largely  figured. 
The  story  he  told  me,  as  near  as  I  can  recall  it,  is  as  follows :  "A 
certain  medicine  man,  who  lived  not  far  from  Wawona,  across  the 
South  Fork,  was  shot  and  killed  by  several  Indians,  because  he  tailed 
to  cure  their  relatives  of  grippe.  One  of  the  murderers  was  caught 
and  sentenced  to  death.  He  was  hung  at  San  Quentin,  the  California 
State  penitentiary.  His  widow,  who  was  well  off,  determined  to  give 
him  a  good  entrance  to  the  land  of  the  departed,  so  she  engaged  two 
professional  dancers  and  wailers,  or  mourners,  and  a  master  of  cere 
monies,  and  then  sent  out  invitations  to  all  her  friends  and  neighbors 
to  take  part  in  the  ceremony. 

As  they  were  old  friends,  Mr.  Hill  and  his  daughter  were  allowed 
to  be  present.  The  usual  feasting  and  wailing  were  indulged  in,  but 
the  most  interesting  and  picturesque  feature  of  the  affair  was  a  death 
dance,  led  by  the  master  of  ceremonies,  and  in  which  the  two  pro 
fessionals  outdid  themselves.  There  was  a  large  bonfire,  and  around 
this  the  dancers  ranged  themselves  in  a  circle.  Each  dancer  had  a 
basket,  some  of  them  being  exceedingly  fine  ones — heirlooms  that 


4*>  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

had  been  kept  hidden  from  all  vulgar  eyes  for  just  such  an  important 
event.  To  the  low  singing  of  the  medicine  man — there  being  no 
drum — the  dance  began.  Gradually  the  song  increased  in  power,  and 
as  it  did  so  the  dance  increased  in  speed,  fury  and  frenzy.  The  baskets 
were  used  in  rhythmic  movement  with  the  motions  of  the  dancers. 
Down  to  the  feet,  across  the  hips,  before  each  breast  in  turn,  then 


FIG.    27A.      THE    AUTHOR    DESCRIBING  THE  NAVAHO  SACRED  BASKET. 

above  the  head.  All  this  time  the  wailing  was  kept  up,  and  tears 
rolled  down  the  cheeks  of  the  "best"  mourners.  At  the  height  of  the 
dance,  at  a  signal  from  the  leader,  all  the  baskets  were  thrown  into 
the  fire,  and,  as  the  last  flame  from  them  expired,  the  dance  was 
brought  to  a  conclusion." 


BASKETRY  IN  INDIAN   CEREMONIAL. 


49 


5°  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

CHAPTER  V. 
BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE. 


As  elsewhere  stated,  the  scope  of  this  book  is  limited  to  the  basketry 
of  the  Southwest,  the  Pacific  Coast  and  Alaska.  It  is  within  these 
boundaries  that  the  art  attained  its  highest  perfection  (as  far  as  what 
is  now  American  territory  is  concerned)  and  where  it  is  now  most 
practised  in  its  primitive  simplicity. 

The  following  accounts  of  the  basket-making  peoples  necessarily 
are  brief.  They  purpose  merely  to  give  an  idea  as  to  their  location, 
so  that  the  collector  may  have  better  clues  to  work  upon  for  the  identi 
fication  O'f  specimens  than  the  guess-work  statements  of  some  dealers. 
In  any  good  library  further  information  'may  be  gained  about  the 
people  named. 

To  visit  the  Navahoes,  Hopi,  Havasupais,  Wallapais  and  Cheme- 
huevis,  or  the  Mission  Indians,  west  of  Mt.  San  Jacinto,  in  California, 
the  collector  should  consult  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  officials  as  their  line 
runs  through  the  territory  occupied  by  these  people.  The  Mescalero, 
White  Mountain  and  other  Apaches,  the  Pimas,  Papagoes,  Maricopas 
and  Mission  Indians  east  of  Mt.  San  Jacinto,  are  reached  by  the  Sunset 
Route  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway.  The  Mid-California  Indians, 
such  as  Monos,  Yokuts,  Tulares,  etc.,  are  reached  by  both  lines.  The 
Inyos  can  be  found  near  the  line  of  the  Carson  and  Colorado  River, 
which  connects  with  the  Central  Route  of  the  S.  P.  at  Reno,  Nevada. 
The  Washoes  and  Paiutis  are  found  around  Reno,  Carson  and  Wads- 
worth  on  the  Central  Route  of  the  S.  P.  Co.  The  S.  P.  officials  in  San 
Francisco  will  gladly  give  information  to  those  interested  how  they 
may  best  reach  the  Basket  Makers  of  the  Northern  Pacific  States,  and 
the  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Co.,  in  the  same  city,  will  give  like  inform 
ation  about  Alaska. 

Perhaps  the  finest  and  most  delicate  weaving  of  the  North  Ameri 
can  Indians  is  done  by  the  Aleuts  of  Attu  Island,  the  most  westerly 
point  of  Alaska.  This  tiny  island  is  the  remotest  and  most  iso 
lated  of  the  possessions  of  the  United  States.  The  homes,  or  "bara- 
bas,"  of  the  Aleuts  are  built  of  sod,  and  in  these  dreary  places,  which 
the  long  winter  makes  inconceivably  dark  and  desolate  they  work  at 
their  interesting  basketry,  singing  or  crooning  to  themselves  to  help 
the  weary  days  pass  along.  Some  of  their  weaving  is  shown  in  Fig.  45. 

In  Alaska  the  chief  basket-makers  are  the  Tlinkits  and  Haidas. 
The  former  are  located  on  the  coast  and  islands  of  Southern  Alaska, 
and  are  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  Alaskan  tribes. 
They  excel  "in  all  manner  of  carving  in  wood,  bone,  or  stone ;  they 
shape  pipes,  rattles  and  masks  with  all  fantastical  forms,  from  the 
hardest  material.  The  women  are  equally  skilfull  in  plaiting  baskets. 
In  former  times  they  also  made  a  practice  of  weaving  the  long  hair 
of  the  mountain  goat  into  cloaks  and  blankets  in  the  most  gorgeous 
colors  and  patterns." 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE.  51 

The  Haida  people  live  on  Dall  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  Islands,  of 
Alaska,  and  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  of  British  Columbia. 

The  Kauiags,  who  inhabit  Kadiak  and  its  surrounding  islands,  are 
also  basket-makers,  but  are  not  so  expert  as  the  Thlinket  and  Haida 
women.  They  excel  in  embroidery. 

The  Thompson  Indians  live  in  the  southern  interior  of  British 
Columbia,  mostly  east  of  the  Coast  Range,  though  they  penetrate 
far  into  the  heart  of  that  range.  There  are  three  rivers  in  this  territory 
— the  Fraser,  the  Thompson  (which  is  its  principal  tributary),  and  a 
smaller  tributary  of  the  Thompson,  the  Nicola.  In  or  near  the  valleys 
of  these  rivers  the  principal  villages  of  the  Thompson  Indians  may  be 


HAIDA  WOMAN  or  MASSET  WEAVING  A  BASKET. 
From  Popular  Science  Monthly. 


the 


found.     They  hunt  in  the  country  on  either  side.     They  are  of 
Salishan  stock.     Basketry  is  an  important  industry  among  them. 

Washington  has  several  tribes  who  engage  in  basket-making  on  a 
small  scale.  These  are  the  remnants  of  tribes  which  formerly  used  to 
occupy  the  whole  territory.  Among  these,  in  Western  Washington, 
are  the  Quinaielts.  In  the  far  north,  on  Cape  Flattery, are  the  Makahs, 
belonging  to  the  Nutka  family.  Still  on  the  coast  further  south  are  the 
various  branches  of  the  great  Salish  family,  often  confused  by  local 
names  that  have  no  ethnological  nor  geographical  significance.  These 
extend  south  to  the  region  of  the  Columbia  River,  where  the  Tsinuks, 
commonly  known  as  the  Chinooks,  are  found.  Inland,  south  of  Mt. 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


O 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE.  53 

St.  Helen's,  are  the  Klikatats,  belonging  to  the  Sahaptin  family*  and 
north  are  the  Kowlitz,  another  tribe  of  the  Salish  family.  Several 
tribes  occupy  the  regions  along  the  Puget  Sound,  mainly,  however, 
belonging  to  the  Salishes.  These  are  the  Miskuwallis,  Puyullaps, 
Squaxin  and  Muckleshoots.  The  Snohomish  and  Skohomish  peoples 
occupy  the  opposing  sides  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  Sound,  and 
the  Skagits  and  Lummis  are  to  the  extreme  north.  Inland  there  are 
the  Yakimas,  and,  on  the  borders  of  British  Columbia,  the  Tenaskots. 

California  has  long  been  known  as  the  home  of  particularly  expert 
basket  weavers.  Possibly  the  finest  baskets  ever  made,  with  but  two 
or  three  exceptions,  were  the  work  of  Gualalas,  Yokuts  or  Pomas. 
The  fertile  well-wooded  and  well-watered  western  slopes  of  the  ma 
jestic  Sierra  Nevada  were  long  the  home  of  an  aboriginal  people  which, 
in  early  days,  was  so  large  as  to  command  the  astonishment  of  travel 
ers  familiar  only  with  the  populations  of  the  cold  forests  of  the  Atlantic 
States  or  the  vast  sterile  wastes  of  the  interior  of  the  Continent. 
Stephen  Powers  estimates  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  there 
must  have  been  not  less  than  700,000  Indians  in  California  alone. 
But,  alas !  civilization  has  swept  most  of  them  away.  Regardless  of 
what  the  'carpet  knights  who  wield  compiling-pens'  in  comfortable 
Eastern  or  European  libraries  say,  we,  who  have  studied  the  Indian 
in  his  own  home,  have  heard  his  traditions  of  the  origin  of  his  races 
and  the  stories  of  their  decline ;  have  seen  the  rapid  diminution  of  pop 
ulation  in  recent  years,  know  full  well  that  it  is  sadly  too  true  in 
most  cases  that  "Civilization  bestows  all  its  vices  and  few,  if  any,  of  its 
virtues  upon  the  American  Indian." 

The  California  Indian  was  very  different  from  his  warlike  brother 
of  the  Atlantic  Coast  and  Great  Inland  Basin.  He  was  the  type  of 
quiet,  contented,  peaceful  simplicity.  Not  that  he  never  went  to  war, 
but  he  preferred  to  take  life  easy,  enjoy  his  simple  pleasures,  engage 
in  his  religious  dances,  destroy  his  enemies  by  treacherous  assassina 
tion  rather  than  by  open  warfare,  and  run  away  with  a  good  looking 
girl  when  he  was  too  poor  to  purchase  her.  Of  the  vast  and  teeming 
populations  of  this  ideal  land  but  scattered  remnants  remain. 

On  the  Klamath  River  are  the  Yuroks,  Karoks  and  Modoks.  The 
two  former  are  generally  called  Klamaths.  Thr  Karoks  (often  spelled 
Cahrocs)  are  a  fine,  vigorous  people,  inhabiting  the  lower  portion 
of  Salmon  River,  and  down  the  Klamath  to  a  certain  canyon  a  few 
miles  above  Waitspeh,  where  they  merge  into  the  Yuroks,  who  ex 
tend  along  the  Klamath  River  from  the  mouth  of  Trinity  River  to  the 
Pacific.  The  Indians  and  white  settlers  have  intermarried  so  that 
there  is  little  pure  blood  among  them.  About  Crescent  City  a  few  of 
the  Tolowas  still  live,  a  bold,  warlike  people,  hated  by  the  Klamath 
River  Indians,  with  whom  they  used  to  be  constantly  at  war. 

On  the  lower  Trinity  River  are  the  Hupas,  the  main  reservation 
being  in  Hoopa  Valley.  Powers  says  of  them  :  "Next  after  the  Karok 
they  are  the  finest  race  in  all  that  region.  They  are  the  Romans  of 
Northern  California  in  their  valor  and  their  wide-reaching  dominions ; 

*The  Rev.  W.  C.  Curtis,  commenting  upon  the  above  statement,  says:  "I 
have  been  of  the  opinion  that  their  habitat  was  north  of  the  Columbia  and 
east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains,  centering  in  Klickitat  and  Yakima  Counties, 
and  that  if  there  are  any  'south  of  Mt.  St.  Helen's'  they  are  out  of  place." 


54 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


PIG.   47.    A  WASHINGTON   WEAVER. 


FIG.    48.    A    MONO    WEAVER. 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE.  55 

they  are  the  French  in  the  extended  diffusion  of  their  language."  At 
one  time  their  power  was  potent  over  many  of  the  neighboring  tribes 
except  the  Klamaths.  Now  they  are  a  poor,  peaceable  and  submissive 
race,  whose  women  are  expert  basket  makers  and  whose  men  earn 
their  living  whenever  and  wherever  possible  by  farming,  cattle  rais 
ing,  logging  and  giving  general  assistance  to  the  whites. 

Around  Humboldt  Bay  and  Arcata  are  a  few  of  the  Patawats,  a 
black-skinned,  pudgy,  low-foreheaded  race. 

On  Eel  River  are  a  few  basket-makers.  These  are  the  Viards,  or 
Wiyots,  and  are  closely  allied  to  the  Patawats.  On  the  Mattole  Creek 
and  Bear  River  and  a  part  of  the  Eel  River  are  the  Mattoals,  and  these 
are  the  better  basket-makers.  On  the  South  Fork  of  the  Eel  River  are 
a  few  Flonhos,  as  the  Lolonkuhs  are  improperly  named. 


FIG.    49.     A   WASHINGTON    WEAVER 

Under  the  control  of  the  Round  Valley  United  States  Indian  Agen 
cy  are  all  that  remain  of  the  Wailakki,  Yuki,  and  Tatu  peoples, 
where  among  the  women  a  few  basket-makers  are  to  be  found. 

Sixty  years  or  so  ago  in  Mendocino  County,  at  the  very  source  of 
the  Russian  River,  in  Potter  Valley,  lived  a  small  tribe  of  Indians 
known  as  the  Pomos.  According  to  Dr.  Hudson  they  should  be 
called  Pomas.  "The  Kulanapan  term  for  certain  of  its  tribes  is 
Poma,  not  Porno.  Po,  is  red  or  rusty  color,  ma,  earth,"  and  the  people 
say  they  sprung  from  a  certain  red  knoll  in  Potter  Valley ;  hence  they 
are  "the  people  of  the  red  earth." 

About  thirty  years  ago  they  moved  to  the  Ukiah  Valley  into  the 
midst  of  civilization,  where,  however,  they  have  retained  their  distinc 
tive  Indian  character  and  individuality.  Their  basketry  is  most  ex 
quisite,  delicate,  rich  and  beautiful. 

There  are  a  few  Indians  still  left  of  the  Yokaia  tribe,  from  which  we 
get  the  corrupted  Ukiah.  Yo  means  "down  below,"  and  Kaia  is  a 
variation  of  the  Poma  Kai,  valley."  Hence  these  are  the  people 
who  live  in  the  valley  below  the  Pomas. 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE.  57 

The  Gallinuomers  are  a  branch  of  the  Poma  family,  and  a  few  of 
them  may  be  found  in  the  hills  near  Cloverdale  and  Healdsburg,  and, 
closely  related  to  them,  but  living"  on  a  small  creek  which  empties  into 
the  ocean  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Sonoma  County,  are  the  Gualalas. 
The  latter  were  among  the  best  of  the  older  basket-makers,  and  happy 
is  that  collector  who  can  show  a  Gualala  basket  among  his  treasures. 

The  Ashochimi,  commonly  known  as  the  Wappos,  were  once  a 
powerful  people  inhabiting  the  region  of  the  Geysers  and  Salistoga. 
Their  name,  Wappo,  the  unconquerable,  was  given  to  them  by  the 
Spaniards  after  a  severe  conflict  in  which  the  latter  were  defeated, 
though  led  by  the  redoubtable  General  M.  G.  Vallejo.  But  few  are 
now  to  be  found. 

About  Clear  Lake  are  a  few  of  the  Kabiapeks  and  Makhelchels,  and 
on  the  Sacramento  a  large  family  named  the  Patwin,  from  one  branch 
of  which  we  get  the  names  Napa,  Suisin,  and  (from  one  of  the  chiefs) 
Solano.  On  the  upper  Sacramento  and  upper  Trinity  still  remain  the 
Wintuns,  many  of  which  are  known  as  Pitt  River  Indians. 
A  pitiful  few  remain  of  the  once  fierce  Shastika,  who  hover  around  the 
southern  foothills  of  California's  majestic  giant,  to  whicri  they  have 
given  a  name. 

Best  known  because  of  their  sullen  and  desperate  war  in  the  seven 
ties  are  the  Modoks,  who  live  east  of  Shasta  and  as  far  north  as  the 
Goose  Lake  Valley.  Their  baby  and  fancy  baskets  have  always 
been  greatly  admired. 

South  of  this  region,  even  to  the  Tehachipi  Mountains,  are  the  re 
mains  of  peoples  who  are  rapidly  passing  away.  They  are  mainly  to 
be  found  in  the  foothills  or  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  rejoice 
in  the  generic  name  "Diggers,"  as  applied  to  them  by  the  miners, 
cattle-men  and  ranchers,  with  whom  they  come  in  contact.  Most  of 
them  dress  in  civilized  costume,  though  few  inhabit  any  other  than 
the  rude  "wickiups"  of  their  forefathers.  Among  them  the  basket- 
making  habit  is  speedily  dying  out  as  the  older  women  pass  away. 
The  proper  names  of  these  people  are  the  Maidu,  whose  home  was 
from  the  Sacramento  to  Honey  Lake  and  from  Big  Chico  Creek  to 
Bear  River ;  a  little  to  the  south  are  the  Nishinam.  But  by  far  the 
largest  nation  of  California  was  the  Miwok,  which  occupied  the  terri 
tory  from  the  snow  line  of  the  Sierra  to  the  San  Joaquin  River,  and 
from  the  Cosumnes  to  the  Fresno,  including  all  the  fertile  and  well- 
watered  valleys  of  the  Mokelumne,  the  Stanislaus,  the  Tuolumne,  the 
Merced  and  the  Chowchilla.  It  is  from  the  fact  that  they  are  a  "river" 
people  that  they  get  their  name. 

Here  and  there  small  bands  of  Paiuti,  who  crossed  the  Sierras  on 
predatory  excursions  and  finally  located,  are  to  be  found.  They  are 
expert  basket-makers.  Their  chief  location  is  midway  between  the 
original  home  of  the  Yokut  nation,  which  used  to  extend  from  Fresno 
River  to  the  Tehachipi.  Many  of  the  Indians  now  found  in  the 
region  of  the  Tule  River  reservation,  on  Kern  River,  White  River  and 
Poso  Creek  and  the  Sierras  near  Walker  Pass  are  Paiutis. 

A  few  Yokuts  are  still  to  be  found  on  the  San  Joaquin  and  Kings 
Rivers,  the  Kaweah  and  a  portion  of  Tule  River,  and  those  at  or  near 
old  Fort  Tejon  are  the  southern  branch  of  this  divided  people.  As 
basket-makers  they  excel,  and  most  of  the  so-called  Tulare  baskets 
are  either  Yokut  or  Paiuti,  generally  the  former,  and  none  but  those 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE.  59 

who  purchase  on  the  ground  can  definitely  state  which  they  are.  In 
the  private  collection  of  Mr.  W.  D.  Campbell,  of  Los  Angeles,  are 
some  fine  specimens  of  Yokut  work. 

The  Yokuts  once  occupied  all  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nev 
ada  and  the  great  plains  from  the  Fresno  River  to  Fort  Tejon,  but 
owing  to  conditions  it  is  somewhat  interesting  to  review  they  were 
divided  into  two  sections  and  their  identity  almost  completely  lost. 
The  great  Sierra  Nevada  range  afforded  a  complete  barrier  between 
the  pastoral  California  and  the  fierce  and  nomadic  Athapascan  tribes 
that  roamed  the  trackless  deserts  of  Arizona  and  Nevada.  But  as  the 
struggle  for  existence  became  greater  various  tribes,  as  the  Paiutis 
and  Apaches,  began  to  seek  for  and  find  the  mountain  passes,  and 
soon  succeeded  in  making  incursions  into  California  territory.  The 
result  was  the  wedging  apart  of  the  Yokut  nation  by  Nevada  Paiutis, 
who  seized  Kern  River,  White  River,  Poso  Creek  and  Kern  Lake. 
This  fact  (in  addition  to  one  stated  on  a  later  page)  affords  the  ex 
planation  for  the  existence  of  so  many  Nevada  Paiutis  in  this  South 
ern  California  region. 

Of  the  Yokuts  there  were  originally  many  divisions,  each  having 
its  own  name.  Of  those  named  by  Powers  few  now  remain.  The 
Chuc-chances  and  Wi-chum-na  are  still  in  existence  and  are  'basket- 
makers.  I  found,  in  a  recent  visit  to  the  Tule  River  reservation,  three 
sub-tribal  names  not  mentioned  by  Powers,  one  of  which,  the  Nu-cha- 
a-wai-i,  is  the  branch  of  the  Yokuts  to  which  the  major  portion  of  the 
reservation  Indians  claim  they  belong.  The  others  were  the  Yo-al- 
man-i  and  the  Yo-er-kal-i.  These  are  the  Fort  Tejon  branches  of  the 
Yokuts.  To  the  basket  collector  these  people  are  most  interesting, 
and  it  is  a  source  of  regret  that  more  has  not  been  done  to  gather 
reliable  information  in  regard  to  their  tribal  life.  It  will  be  a  matter 
of  surprise  to  many  to  learn  that  the  Yokuts  used  to  have  a  rattle 
snake  dance,  similar  in  hideousness  (though  far  less  ceremonially 
complex)  to  that  of  the  Hopi  Indians  of  Arizona,  and  this,  m  a  meas 
ure,  explains  the  universal  prevalence  of  the  rattlesnake  design  in  their 
basketry. 

Few  dealers,  when  disposing  of  a  Kern,  Tule,  Kaweah  or  Kings 
River  Indian  basket,  or  one  of  the  celebrated  so-called  "Tulare"  bas 
kets,  are  aware  of  the  fact  that,  most  probably,  they  are  selling  the 
work  of  Yokuts  or  Paiutis.  A  Yokut  basket  is  supposed  to  be  entirely 
different  from  a  Tulare,  and  yet,  unless  the  Tulare  happens  to  be  a 
Paiuti  (pardon  the  Irishism)  there  is  no  difference  between  the  two, 
the  Yokut  being  the  tribal  or  national  name,  of  which  the  Tulares  are 
but  a  small  section. 

Below  the  Tehachipi,  throughout  Southern  California  and  in  the 
Coast  Valleys  between  Santa  Barbara  and  Monterey,  are  all  that  re 
main  of  the  once  numerous  Mission  Indians.  These,  as  the  name  im 
plies,  were  the  tribes  who  were  under  the  dominion  of  the  Franciscan 
friars  who  controlled  the  Missions  of  California.  The  original  names 
and  locations  of  these  people  are  now  but  a  tradition,  and  they  are 
generally  known  by  some  comparatively  recently-given  local  name. 

The  most  populous  of  these  is  the  San  Luis  Rey  tribe,  known  as 
Luisenos.  These  are  found  on  the  Mesa  Grande,  Potrero,  Temecula, 
Rincon,  Los  Coyotes,  Pauma,  and  Pala  reservations,  and  at  villages 
at  Warner's  Ranch,  San  Luis  Rey  and  San  Felipe. 


6o 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


o 


23 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE. 


6l 


The  Dieguinos  occupy  the  Capitan  Grande,  Sycuan,  Santa  Ysabel, 
Campo,  Cuyapipe,  and  Morongo  reservations,  and  the  Cahuillas,  the 
Agua  Caliente,  Santa  Rosa,  Cabazon,  Torres,  Twenty-nine  palms  and 
Cahuilla  reservations.  At  Saboba  (near  San  Jacinto)  is  a  small  village 
where  both  Luisenos  and  Cahuillas  are  to  be  found,  sadly  mixed  up 
and  intermarried  with  degenerate  Mexicans. 

Among  all  the  Mission  Indians  basket-making  is  carried  on  to  a 
greater  or  lesser  extent.  The  Cahuillas  have  some  of  the  best  basket- 
makers. 

In  Nevada  there  are  two  tribes  who  are  noteworthy  as  basket- 
makers.  These  are  the  Paiutis  and  Washoes.  The  former  is  much 
the  larger  tribe.  Its  members  are  scattered  over  the  greater  part  of 
Nevada,  and  isolated  families  or  kindred  tribes  are  t )  be  found  as  far 
south  as  the  northern  "rim"  of  the  Grand  Canyon,  and  eastwards  as 
far  as  the  middle  of  Southern  Utah.  The  town  of  Winnemucca,  on 
the  line  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railway,  is  named  after  the  last  great 
chief  of  the  Paiutis.  During  the  early  days  of  American  occupancy 
of  Nevada  this  people  gave  our  government  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
on  account  of  their  warlike  spirit.  A  constant  and  annoying  war 
was  kept  up,  until  a  number  of  the  leaders,  with  their  families,  were 
made  prisoners  and  removed  under  military  surveillance,  to  old  Fort 
Tejon,  in  Southern  California.  Here  they  remained  for  awhile,  then 
more  than  half  of  them  were  allowed  to  escape.  They  fled  to  the  foot 
hills  of  the  Sierras,  east  of  where  Bakersfield  and  Porterville  now  are, 
and,  'being  kindly  received  by  the  tribes  of  the  Kern,  Tule  and 
Kahweah  Rivers  settled  there,  where  they  and  their  descendants  are 
still  to  be  found.  Later  they  were  joined  by  the  remnant  of  the  pris 
oners,  who  were  released.  As  a  result,  the  basketry  of  this  Sierra  foot 
hill  region  varies.  The  pure  Yokut  and  Paiuti  types  are  to  be  found, 
and  there  is  also  a  mixed  product  which  shows  the  influence  of  both 
styles  of  weave. 

The  Washoes  are  a  small  remnant  of  a  once  powerful  tribe  that 
inhabited  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  in  the  region  of  Reno 
and  Carson  City.  Washoe  City  and  County,  Nevada,  take  their 
names  from  this  tribe. 

In  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  the  chief  basket  makers  are  the  Zunis, 
the  Hopituh  (commonly  known  as  the  Moki),  the  Mescalero,  San  Car 
los  and  White  Mountain  Apaches,  the  Havasupais,  the  Pimas  and  the 
Maricopas. 

Zuni  is  well  known  as  the  home  for  several  years  of  Lieut.  Frank 
H.  Gushing,  whose  recent  death  was  such  a  great  blow  to  the  science 
of  practical  ethnology.  It  is  composed  of  seven  small  "cities,"  the 
chief  one  of  which  is  on  the  banks  of  the  Zuni  River,  where  wonderful 
and  marvelous  ceremonials  are  performed  each  month.  It  was  to 
Zuni  that  Coronado  marched  from  Mexico,  350  years  ago,  and  it 
was  there  that  Spanish  despotism  first  set  down  its  foot  in  the  heart  of 
what  afterwards  became  United  States  territory.  The  weavers  here 
are  few  and  far  from  expert. 

The  Hopi  occupy  seven  villages  on  three  Mesas  about  ten  miles 
apart  in  Northern  Arizona.  Strange  to  say,  no  basket-makers  are 
found  in  three  of  the  villages,  and  of  the  other  four  three  make  one  kind 
of  basket  and  the  fourth  another  kind.  In  the  long,  long  ago  the  Hopi 
tuh  migrated  from  southern  and  central  Arizona  to  their  present 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


FIG.   56.      DA-SO-LA-LE,    WASHOE    BASKET    MAKER. 


BASKET     MAKING     PEOPLE.  O5 

homes.  They  left,  in  the  Red  Rock  country,  several  villages  which 
have  recently  been  excavated.  In  these,  large  numbers  of  basket  frag 
ments  were  discovered.  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes,  the  chief  authority  on 
the  Hopi,  says  that  in  his  excavations  at  the  Chevelon  ruin,  about 
fifteen  miles  east  of  Winslow,  Arizona,  he  found  much  basketry  in  the 
graves  that  had  the  forms  of  the  plaques  still  manufactured  at  Oraibi 
and  on  the  middle  Mesa. 

The  Mescalero  Apaches  occupy  a  reservation  in  the  middle  portion 
of  Southern  New  Mexico.  It  is  an  elevated  mountainous  region  of 
nearly  500,000  acres,  with  many  and  various  trees,  and  yet  water  is 
so  uncertain  that  little  over  500  acres  are  available  for  practical  farm 
ing  purposes.  Altogether  there  are  about  500  Indians,  men,  women, 
and  children.  The  nearest  railway  station  is  Las  Cruces,  on  the  main 
line  of  the  Santa  Fe,  no  miles  away,  hence  they  see  very  few  whites, 
though  the  town  of  Tularosa  with  several  hundred  Mexicans,  is  only 
18  miles  away.  The  women  of  this  tribe  make  a  rude  basket  which 
will  be  described  later. 

The  San  Carlos  and  White  Mountain  Apaches  live  in  Southeastern 
Arizona.  There  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  4000  to  5000  of  them, 
but  the  number  of  basket^makers  is  comparatively  small.  These  are 
the  people  whose  very  name  strikes  terror  to  many  hearts,  and  yet, 
when  reasonably  treated,  no  more  intelligent  and  appreciative  Indians 
are  to  be  found  in  the  country.  The  basketry  of  these  weavers  is 
remarkably  interesting,  both  for  form  and  design,  as  all  who  have 
seen  the  beautiful  collection  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  His 
tory  in  New  York  City  will  acknowledge. 

The  Havasupais  are  a  small  tribe  of  not  more  than  200  men, 
women,  and  children,  inhabiting  one  of  the  side  canyons  tributary 
on  the  South  to  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  River  in  Northern 
Arizona.  Their  name  is  poetic  and  is  gained  from  the  chief  charac 
teristic  of  their  rocky  canyon  home.  Just  above  where  their  village 
begins  a  thousand  springs  of  varying  sizes  burst  forth  from  under  the 
rocks  and  form  a  singularly  beautiful  stream,  which  they  term  the 
"Ha-ha-va-su,"  "water  blue."  They  are  the  pai,  people,  of  this 
blue  water.  They  were  named  by  the  Spaniards  the  Kohonino,  and 
their  basketry  is  occasionally  found  among  other  tribes  bearing 
this  name.  They  trade  largely  with  the  Hopis  and  Navahoes  and 
exchange  baskets  for  blankets,  ponies,  etc.  Though  their  basketry 
is  not  of  fine  weave,  the  designs  are  often  striking,  and  a  good 
specimen  is  eagerly  sought  after  and  highly  prized. 

The  Pimas  and  Maricopas  inhabit  their  reservation  in  Southern 
Arizona,  not  far  from  Phoenix.  These  Indians  have  always  been  noted 
for  their  quiet,  peaceful  and  pastoral  character,  and  they  are  great 
basket  makers.  They  live  a  semi-nomadic  life.  Their  basketry  con 
tains  some  wonderful  specimens  of  Greek  and  Oriental  figures,  and 
in  the  variations  of  the  Swastika  alone  they  have  given  the  student 
enough  splendid  examples  to  illustrate  several  volumes. 

For  a  long  time  it  was  doubted  whether  the  Navahoes  made 
baskets.  This  nomadic  and  interesting  tribe  occupies  a  large  reser 
vation  in  the  Northeastern  part  of  Arizona,  lapping  over  a  little  into 
both  New  Mexico  and  Utah.  But,  as  I  have  shown  in  the  chapter 
devoted  to  legendary  lore  connected  with  basketry,  there  is  little 
doubt  that  they  are  properly  a  basket-making  people,  though  the  art 


64 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE. 


FTG.  60.  HOPI  YUCCA  BASKET. 


FIG.  61.  HOPI  SACRED  PLAQUE 


FIG.  59.  ORAIBI  BASKET  MAKER. 


66 


INDIAN     BASKETRY. 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE. 


67 


has  largely  declined  amongst  them.  The  reason^  for  this  decline 
are  obvious.  Their  women  find  pleasanter,  more  congenial  and  more 
profitable  employment  in  the  art  of  blanket  weaving,  in  which  they 
excel,  their  work  comparing  favorably  with  the  highest  art  produc 
tions  of  the  world.  They  have  large  flocks  of  sheep,  and  it  is  more 
to  their  interest  to  wash,  dye.  card,  spin  and  weave  the  wool,  which 
the  sheep  bring  to  their  very  doors,  than  spend  long  and  weary  days  in 


FIG.    65. 


FIG.   66. 


FIG.    69.     A    FINISHED    MENOMINI 
BASKET. 


making  the  long  and  weary  journeys  to  gather  the  various  materials 
needed  for  basket-making. 

Still,  there  are  a  few  Navaho  basket  weavers,  and  genuine  speci 
mens  purchased  from  the  weavers  themselves  or  satisfactorily 
authenticated  are  valuable  acquisitions  to  a  collection. 

It  has  also  been  stated  that  the  Chemehuevis  and  Wallapais  do  not 
make  baskets.  This  is  an  error.  Both  tribes  make  a  few  baskets,  the 
former  being  excellent  weavers  as  will  be  seen  from  the  specimen 
here  shown  (Fig.  63). 

The  Chemehuevis  live  on  a  reservation  on  the  California  side  of 
the  Colorado  River  not  far  from  the  town  of  Needles,  and  the  Walla 
pais  occupy  their  reservation  adjoining  that  of  the  Havasupai  on  the 
west. 

The  Wallapais  had  almost  lost  the  art  when,  fortunately  for  them, 
Miss  Frances  S.  Calfee  was  sent  among  them  as  a  field  matron.  For 
over  seven  years  she  has  worked  with  them,  and  from  their  very  name 
being  a  reproach  and  a  synonym  of  debauchery  and  degradation 


68 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE.  09 

they  have  reached  a  degree  of  self-respect  that  is  highly  commendable. 
In  her  endeavors  for  their  betterment  Miss  Calfee  has  reintroduced 
the  art  of  basket-making,  and,  recently  I  secured  five  specimens  of 
their  work  that  show  considerable  ability  and  make  it  certain  that,  if 
the  art  is  cultivated,  the  Wallapais  may  soon  rank  as  a  great  basket- 
making  people. 

Located  in  the  Northeastern  interior  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  on  a 
360  square  mile  reservation,  are  the  Menomini  Indians.     They  are  mat 


- "  -     - 
mid      -    • 


FIG.   68. 


FIG.    67. 

weavers  and  basket  makers,  and  a  brief  reference  to  their  work  and 
methods  is  here  introduced  for  comparison  with  the  work  of  the  In 
dians  of  the  West  and  Southwest. 

Their  bark  mats  are  woven  as  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  full 
page  engraving  from  Mary  Irvin  Wright's  painting.  They  are  made 
from  the  inner  bark  of  the  cedar,  cut  in  strips  averaging  half  an  inch  in 
width.  Some  of  the  mats  are  nearly  white,  others  are  colored  dark  red 
and  sometimes  black  with  native  vegetal  dyes.  The  decoration  is  efrec- 


7O  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

tively  produced  in  diamond  and  lozenge  patterns,  as  well  as  in  zigzag 
lines,  both  by  color  and  by  the  weaving  of  the  weft  strips,  the  latter 
being  accomplished  by  taking  up  and  dropping  certain  members  of  the 
warp  strips. 

Baskets  are  made  on  the  same  principle  of  plaiting  as  is  employed 
for  bark  mats.    The  strips  are  made  from  black  elm,  the  necessary  limbs 


WOVEN    SLIPPER    FOUND    IN    SALTPETER    CAVE    IN    KENTUCKY. 

being  from  3  to  4  inches  in  diameter  (Fig.  65) ;  these  are  thoroughly 
hammered  with  a  wooden  mallet  (Fig.  66)  until  the  individual  layers  of 
the  branch  are  detached  from  the  layers  immediately  beneath.  These 
layers  are  then  cut  into  thin  narrow  strips  by  means  of  the  knife  univers 
ally  used  (Fig.  67).  The  strips  are  kept  in  coils  (Fig.  68)  until  ready 
for  use,  when  they  are  soaked  in  water.  Fig.  69  illustrates  a  finished 
basket. 

Cutting  is  always  clone  away  from  the  hand  holding  the  material  to 
be  cut,  and  toward  the  body. 


FIG.    69a.— YOKUT    GIRL    WEAVERS. 

The  club  or  mallet  employed  in  hammering  the  elm  wood  is  about 
20  inches  long  and  has  one  end  thinner  than  the  other,  so  as  to  form  a 
handle. 


BASKET  MAKING  PEOPLE. 


Cahuilla  Indians  Collecting  Basket  Material  among  the  Palms  of  Palm  Canon. 


72  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MATERIALS  USED  IN  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

It  would  be  a  most  interesting  study,  had  one  the  time  to  devote  *  j 
to  it,  to  see  how  .change  of  environment  has  affected  the  basketry  of 
any  one  tribe  or  race  of  people.  Take  the  great  Athapascan  stock  of 
central  Alaska  as  an  illustration.  In  this — possibly  their  original 
habitat — they  wove  with  such  materials  as  came  to  hand,  birchbark, 
spruce  roots,  quills  and  the  like.  One  migration  brought  some  of  the 
stock  down  into  Oregon  and  Northern  California.  Tliere  they  made 
their  ware  of  hazel  twigs,  redbud,  sweet  grass,  pine  root,  fern  stalk, 
etc.  Other  migrations  formed  the  Apache,  the  Wallapai  and  the 
Havasupai  peoples,  the  first  roaming  the  fierce  deserts  of  Soutaern 
Arizona,  and  Northern  Mexico;  the  second  occupying  the  wastes  of 
the  Painted  Desert,  the  depths  of  Peach  Springs  and  Diamond  Creek- 
Canyons,  and  the  pine  clad  summits  and  slopes  of  the  Wallapai  Mouji- 
tains ;  while  the  third  hides  in  the  seclusion  of  the  Canyon  of  the 
2JTavasu  (Cataract  Canyon),  where  willows  and  martynia  abound.  / 

Far  away  to  the  Northeast  another  migration  brought  the  great 
Navaho  family,  and  until  recently  it  was  not  known  whether  they  ma/le 
baskets  or  not,  but  as  I  have  elsewhere  shown  we  now  know  that-tMey 
are  basket-makers. 

Yet  all  these  people  are  of  one  family  and  blood.  Tinne  in  Alaska, 
Hupa  in  Northern  California,  Apache,  Wallapai  and  Havasupai  in 
Arizona,  Navaho  in  New  Mexico,  each  has  a  basketry,  distinct  and 
individual,  and  yet  all  follow  somewhat  the  same  family  instincts  and 
traits.  A  close  student  might  possibly  be  able  to  determine  from  their 
basket  work  their  family  relationship,  and  it  could  not  fail  to  be  both 
instructive  and  interesting  to  trace  the  changes  and  modifications  in 
their  art  compelled  by  the  different  environments*. 

Dr.  Franz  Boas,  in  his  concluding  chapter  of  Teit's  monograph 
on  the  Thompson  Indians,  makes  some  interesting  observations  upon 
this  subject. 

Hence  it  may  be  stated  in  general  terms  that  the  materials  used 
for  the  basketry  of  any  particular  people  is  largely  determined  by  that 
people's  environment. 

While,  primarily,  all  basketry  may  be  divided  into  two  types,  the 
woven  and  the  sewed,  there  are  a  large  number  of  species  of  each 
type.  These  subclasses  or  species  were  largely  determined  by  the 
material  the  aboriginal  weaver  found  at  her  hands  when  the  time  for 
weaving  came,  and  the  same  law  of  environment  shaping  results  is  stirr 
seen  in  nearlv  all  aboriginal  work.  One  of  the  results  of  our  modern 
and  civilized  methods  of  transportation  is  to  largely  do  away  with  the 
limitations  of  our  own  surroundings,  by  placing  in  our  hands  whatever 
we  need,  no  matter  from  how  great  a  distance.  But  the  Amerind  ha* 


*  Since  the  above  was  in  type  Major  ].  W.  Powell  has  convinced  me  that 
the  Havasupais  and  Wallapais  belong  to  the  Yuman  and  not  to  the  Atha 
pascan  stock. 


MATERIALS     USED     IN     INDIAN     BASKETRY. 


73 


not  learned  to  utilize  this  modern  force  to  any  great  extent,  and  where 
she  has  it  has  proven  disastrous,  as,  for  instance,  where  she  purchases 
imported  aniline  dyes  instead  of  using  her  own  more  reliable  and  beau 
tiful  native  dyes.  ~ 

In  the  chief  material,  however,  the  willows,  grasses,  etc.,  of  whicrA 
she  makes  the  warp  and  woof  of  her  basketry  she  is  still  subject  to  this  ) 
law  of  environment.     Hence,  to  the  intelligent   student  of  basketryj 
the  ware  itself  becomes  a  book  from  which  he  may  read  many  curious 
things — and  read  aright,  too, — such  as  the  geographic  and  physical  con 
ditions  of  the  country  in  which  the  weaver  lived  and  worked,  the  nature 
of  the  soil,  the  color  of  the  rocks,  the  vegetable  growths,  etc. 

This  is  the  key  to  the  diversity  of  material  found  in  Indian  basketry. 
It  explains  why  the  Hopi  use  yucca  and  fine  grass  ;  the  Paiutis  a  coarse 


PIG.  72.     CAHUILLA  COILED  BASKETS.     McCLOUD  RIVER  CARRYING   BASKET. 


fibre ;  the  Havasupais,  willows ;  the  Southern  California  Indians,  tule 
root  and  squaw  weed ;  the  Monos  other  tender  shoots,  roots  and  fibres  ; 
the  Pomas  something  different ;  and  the  tribes  further  north  the  bark  of 
the  cedar  and  the  root  of  the  spruce. 

On  this  subject  Dr.  Mason  well  writes  :— 

"There  is  no  work  of  woman's  fingers  that  furnishes  a  better  oppor 
tunity  for  the  study  of  techno-geography,  or  the  relationship  existing 
between  an  industry  and  the  region  where  it  may  have  been  developed, 
than  the  textile  art.  Suppose  a  certain  kind  of  raw  material  to  abound 
in  any  area  or  country ;  you  may  be  sure  that  savage  women  search  it 
out  and  develope  it  in  their  crude  way.  Furthermore,  the  peculiar 
qualities  and  idiosyncrasies  of  each  substance  suggest  and  demand  a 
certain  treatment.  Women  of  the  lowest  grade  of  culture  have  not  been 
slow  in  discovering  this ;  so  that  between  them  and  the  natural  product 


74  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

there  has  been  a  kind  of  understanding  or  co-operation  leading  to 
local  styles." 

"The  most  simple  as  well  as  the  most  beautiful  types  come  from 
Siam  and  the  other  lands  of  the  bamboo.  The  basket-maker  provides 
herself  with  a  number  of  small  rods  and  a  quantity  of  split  bamboo 
of  uniform  thickness.  The  rods  are  coiled  like  a  watch  spring,  and 
united  firmly  by  wrapping  a  splivit  of  bamboo  around  two  rods  contin 
uously  from  the  center  of  the  bottom  of  the  basket  on  to  the  last  stitch 
on  the  border.  As  the  work  goes  on  the  splint  passes  between  two 
stitches  of  the  preceding  round  and  over  the  fundamental  rod. 

Ware  quite  as  beautiful  as  that  of  the  far  east  may  be  seen  in  the 
spruce  country  of  North  America,  where  the  fine  roots  furnish  a  tough 
fiber  when  split. 

Now,  suppose  that  the  woman  in  sewing  her  coil  introduced  a  thin 
splint  or  some  tough  grass  between  her  rods  in  going  around ;  that 
would  furnish  a  kind  of  packing  or  caulking,  which  would  render  the 


FIG.    73.      FINE    CALIFORNIA   BASKETS. 

work  water-tight.  And  that  is  the  case  with  the  Indians  of  British 
Columbia  and  Washington  in  making  the  baskets  in  which  they  boil 
their  food  by  means  of  hot  stones. 

Going  farther  south,  the  fundamental  rod  becomes  a  bunch  of 
coarse  grass  or  the  split  stems  of  palm  or  other  tropical  plant.  The 
sewing  in  such  cases  is  done  with  stripped  yucca  or  finely  split  and 
dressed  splints  of  osier  or  rhus,  of  stems  of  grass,  so  nicely  and  homo 
geneously  dressed  as  to  enable  the  maker  to  produce  a  basket  with 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  stitches  over  the  surface  which  do  not  show 
the  slightest  variation  in  size. 

Great  variety  is  secured  in  this  ware  by  the  material,  by  the  use 
of  colored  stitches,  and  by  the  introduction  of  birds'  feathers,  beads, 
and  other  decorative  objects  into  the  texture. 

In  the  arctic  regions  spruce  root  is  the  material  with  which  the 
coil  is  sewed.  In  California  it  is  split  osier  and  rhus.  In  the  Hopi 
Pueblos  it  is  extremely  finely  divided  yucca  fibre,  while  the  stems 
serve  for  the  body  of  the  coil.  The  tropical  regions  of  both  hemis 
pheres  abound  with  palms  of  many  varieties  whose  leaves  when  split 
supply  the  very  best  material  for  the  coiled  ware. 


MATERIALS     USED     IN     INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


75 


In  Tierra  del  Fuego,  as  well  as  in  Japan,  the  basket-maker  produces 
an  attractive  variety  in  the  coiled  stitch  by  passing  once  around  the 
standing  part  of  the  sewing  splint,  then  between  the  coil  rods,  down, 
through,  back,  and  over,  to  repeat  the  process  for  each  stitch.  Of  all 
the  varieties  there  are  many  subtypes  too  intricate  to  mention  here. 
We  have  all  the  generic  forms." 

According  to  Jackson  the  Pacific  Coast  baskets  were  originally  made 
for  carrying  and  storing  water,  as  well  as  for  the  uses  already  indicated ; 
and  hence  the  lightest,  cleanest  and  most  durable  materials  were 
selected.  These  are  found  in  various  species  of  willow,  the  "chippa"  of 
the  Southern  Indians,  while  the  fibers  of  the  red  bud  (Cercis  occident- 
alis)  served  the  same  purpose  in  the  North,  and  are  equal  to  those  of 
the  palm  and  bamboo  in  flexibility  and  strength.  Among  grasses  used 
in  the  woof,  the  smooth,  wiry  culms  of  vilfa  and  sporobolus  were  pre 
ferred. 


FIG.    74.     A    PORTION    OF    THE    PLIMPTON  COLLECTION,   SAN   DIEGO,   CAL 

"In  a  country  where  the  grasses  are  tough  and  pliable,  like  the 
sea-island  grasses  of  the  Aleutian  archipelago,  baskets  have  mostly 
been  constructed  from  such  fibre  and  are  soft  and  pliable,  partaking  of 
the  nature  of  bags.  Where  the  lithe  willow,  or  osier,  abounds,  both 
its  branch  and  bark  have  been  used,  the  larger  stems  forming  the  frame 
and  the  lighter  twigs  the  filling ;  these  baskets  generally  stand  upright 
and  take  the  shape  of  pots,  jars  and  vases,  acording  to  their  purpose. 
The  fibre  of  the  yucca — the  soap  plant  or  Spanish  bayonet — and  many 
of  the  cacti  have  been  used  in  this  manufacture.  The  keen-sighted 
Indian  women  readily  find  in  the  mountain  valleys  and  along  the  water 
courses  the  proper  material  to  make  into  the  plastic  wands  which  they 
so  deftly  weave  into  these  graceful  vessels.  They  are  very  skillful  at 
splitting  the  stems  of  the  willow,  the  osier,  the  sauvis,  the  swamp  ash, 
the  vine-maple  and  other  long-fibred  quick  growing  plants,  and  pre 
serving  this  material  for  use  when  needed.  The  proper  season  for 
gathering  the  material  is  when  the  stalk  has  just  completed  its  growth 


76 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


and  before  the  sap  hardens  into  woody  substance." 

One  can  almost  see  and  hear  the  squaw  as  she  makes  her  way  for 
miles  through  the  sweet  woods,  before  the  sap  has  gone  and  the  pliable 
fibre  has  hardened  into  wood,  to  the  places  where  she  finds  the  proper 
material  for  the  plastic  bands  and  grasses  which  she  intends  to  weave 
into  her  baskets.  One  can  follow  this  woman  of  bronze  as  she  trudges 
homeward,  bending  under  her  heavy  load  of  pungent  twigs  and  bark 
and  grasses  and  leaves  and  roots. 

"The  long  withes  split  from  the  rods  are  rolled  up  and  protected 
from  too  much  heat  or  moisture;  just  before  using  they  are  thoroughly 
soaked  in  water  and  woven  while  wet  and  soft.  This  plastic  woof  is 
so  firmly  beaten  down  that  a  new  basket,  of  the  finer  makes,  will  hold 
water  for  some  time ;  to  make  them  permanent  water  jars,  either  for 


FIG.  75.     APACHE  AND  PIMA  COILED  BASKETS,   SIFTER  AND  CARRYING  BASKET 

FROM  OREGON. 

household  use  or  for  transporting  water  on  their  journeys,  the  inter 
stices  are  filled  with  pitch  of  fir  trees." 

In  an  article  on  "The  Basket  of  the  Klickitat,"  by  Mrs.  Velina  P. 
Molson,  she  thus  describes  the  material  used  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
baskets  of  this  primitive  and  interesting  people. 

"To  gather,  prepare  and  manipulate  the  raw  material  meant  time 
and  arduous  labor.  The  foundation  consists  of  the  roots  of  young 
spruce  and  cedar  trees;  it  was  macerated  and  torn  into  threadlike 
shreds,  and  soaked  for  weeks  and  months  in  water  to  rid  it  of  any 
superfluous  vegetable  matter  and  to  render  it  strong  and  pliable.  The 
ornamentation  is  almost  all  made  of  Xerophvllum  Tenax,  which  is  com 
monly  called  "squaw's  grass."  It  grows  on  the  east  side  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains,  and  can  only  be  gathered  during  the  late  summer,  when 
the  snow  has  melted  and  the  grass  has  matured.  This  grass  resembles 
the  plant  of  garden  cultivation,  Yucca  Filamentosa. 


MATERIALS     USED     IN     INDIAN     BASKETRY.  77 

"The  broad,  swordlike  leaves  are  split  into  the  requisite  width,  and 
if  they  are  to  remain  the  natural  color,  an  ivory  white,  they  are  soaked 
in  water  only ;  but  if  they  are  to  be  dyed  they  are  soaked  in  mud  and 
charcoal  for  black,  for  brown  a  dye  made  from  the  willow  bark,  and 
for  yellow  a  longer  time  in  the  water. 

"Sometimes  the  bast  or  inner  bark  of  the  cedar  tree  is  dyed  black 
instead  of  the  grass,  but  it  is  not  so  durable  owing  to  its  short  fibrous 
texture;  or  the  willow  bark  itself  is  used  instead  of  dyeing  the  grass 
brown ;  but  the  willow  looks  slightly  shriveled,  and  neither  presents 
the  smooth  surface  as  when  made  of  squaw's  grass,  although  only 
apparent  to  the  practiced  eye." 

H.  K.  McArthur  in  a  paper  on  the  Basketry  of  the  Northwest  says  : 
"The  labor  of  gathering  materials  and  preparing  them,  before  the 
work  of  construction  begins,  occupies  many  months,  and  is  most 


FIG.  78.— KLAMATH  TRAY;  SKOKOMISH  BASKET;  IDAHO  POUCH  OF 
CEDAR-ROOT  AND  GRASS;  ALASKAN  SIDDED  BASKETS  AND  BAG.* 

arduous.  The  weary  and  toilsome  climb  to  distant  mountain  tops,  for 
rare  and  beautiful  grasses  that  only  adorn  the  face  of  nature  in  these 
lofty  solitudes ;  the  digging  of  certain  tenacious  roots  and  cutting  of 
twigs,  bark  and  fibre,  all  of  which  must  be  cured,  made  into  proper 
lengths  and  macerated  to  a  desired  flexibility  before  being  woven  into 
the  intricate  and  enduring  beauty  of  baskets  ;  coaxing  from  coy  Nature 
her  secrets  of  dyes,  whether  from  peculiarly  colored  earth,  charcoal, 
extracts  of  barks  or  immersion  in  water. 

"Who  of  those  who  live  in  the  Williamette  valley  has  not  seen  some 
ancient  dame  trudging  home,  with  dew-bedraggled  skirts,  with  a  bundle 
of  hazel  sticks  on  her  bent  shoulders,  after  an  early  expedition  to  the 
copse,  or,  it  may  be,  grasses  and  roots  from  a  neighboring  swamp? 

*The  Idaho  Pouch  Is  undoubtedly  of  Skokomish  make,  the  row  of  do&e  around  the 
top  being  one  of  their  well-known  designs. 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


MATERIALS     USED     IN     INDIAN     BASKETRY.  79 

She  is  ancient,  because  in  our  day,  the  beautiful  art  is  not  taught  to 
the  young  women ;  they  do  not  desire  to  know  it,  and  so  the  work  is 
relegated  to  only  the  aged,  who  are  skillful  and  learned. 

"Summer  is  the  season  for  this  preliminary  work.  The  kindly  sun 
favors  these  children  of  Nature,  the  twigs  and  grasses  are  flexible,  the 
barks  are  easily  peeled  and  are  rich  in  juices,  and  the  store  of  materials 
is  gathered  in. 

The  baskets  of  the  Cayuses,  Umatillas.  Nez  Perces  and  Wascos, 
and  others  living"  east  of  the  Cascades,  are  not  stiffly  woven,  but  are 
made  of  split  corn  husks  and  the  wild  hemp  of  the  Walla  Walla  valley. 

The  Shastas  largely  use  sticks  of  hazel.  The  sticks  are  gathered 
in  great  quantities,  the  best  ones  from  ground  denuded  by  fire  of  its 
natural  growth  of  fir  and  hemlock,  where  they  spring  up  straight  and 
strong  from  the  rich  soil.  The  teeth  play  no  small  part  in  peeling  off 
the  bark. 

The  fine  white  grass,  used  by  the  Shastas  in  the  manufacture  of 
their  baskets  is  gained  from  great  elevations  in  the  mountains.  It  is 
almost  like  ivory  in  smoothness  and  tint.  I  have  found  the  Indians  up 
as  higfh  as  the  snow  line  of  Mt.  Shasta  in  summer  time,  gathering  this 
exquisite  grass. 

The  Mendocino  county  and  Hoopa  valley  Indians  make  cradles 
for  the  infants  from  the  peeled  stems  of  tough  young  trees  and  shrubs." 

The  Tlinkits  of  Southern  Alaska  use  spruce  ^  roots,  split  and 
soaked  in  water. 

The  Chilcotin,  Lillooet,  Lower  Thompson  Indians,  and  others 
that  inhabit  the  Cascade  Mountains  in  the  State  of  Wash 
ington,  make  beautiful  coiled  basketry  of  cedar  twigs.  They  use 
the  small  trailing  roots  of  the  cedar  (Thuja  Gigantea,  Nutt).  With 
a  tool  common  with  them,  called  a  root  digger,  they  dig  up  those 
portions  of  the  root  that  are  about  the  thickness  of  a  finger,  and  of  the 
required  length,  and  bury  them  in  the  ground  to  keep  them  fresh.  Be 
fore  using  they  are  peeled  or  scraped  with  a  sharp  stone  or  knife  and 
hung  up  to  dry.  Then  they  are  split  with  the  bone  awl.  Those  splints 
that  are  of  equal  width  and  thickness  are  used  for  'stitching  purposes, 
the  others  as  material  for  forming  the  coil.  In  making  the  coil  the 
stitch  of  the  upper  coil  is  made  to  pass  through,  and  thus  split,  the  splint 
of  the  lower  coil.  Work  of  this  kind  is  practically  water-tight.  A  less 
durable  kind  is  made  by  substituting  strips  of  cedar-sap  for  the  cedar 
root  strips  of  the  inner  coil. 

The  chief  ornamentation  of  this  basketry  is  made  by  hooking  in 
strips  of  grass  and  bark  with  the  stitches,  so  that  they  cover  the  latter 
on  the  outside  only.  Teit  thus  describes  the  process  :  "This  is  done  by 
bringing  the  piece  of  grass  over  the  inside  of  the  last  stitch,  then  doub 
ling  it  back  and  catching  the  doubled  end  with  the  next  stitch.  The 
outsides  of  some  baskets  are  completely  covered  in  this  manner.  The 
grass  used  is  that  called  nho'  itlexin.  It  is  long,  very  smooth,  and  of 
a  glossy  yellow-white  color.  To  make  it  whiter,  diatomaceous  earth 
is  spread  over  it  and  it  is  then  beaten  with  a  flat  stick  on  a  mat  or 
skin.  The  grass  is  seldom  dyed,  as  the  colors  are  said  to  fade  soon. 
The  Upper  Fraser  and  the  Lytton  band  sometimes  use  Elymus  triti- 
coides,  Nutt,  instead  of  this  grass.  The  bark  used  is  that  of  Prunus 
demissa,  Walpers,  which  is  either  left  in  its  natural  light  reddish-brown 
color,  or  is  dyed  by  burying  it  in  damp  earth.  By  thus  keeping  it 


80  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

underground  for  a  short  time,  it  assumes  a  dark  brown  color,  while 
when  kept  longer  it  becomes  quite  black." 

The  LJpper  Fraser  band  of  Thompson  Indians  occasionally  make 
baskets  nowadays  from  corn  leaves  and  stalks. 

"The  Indian  women  of  the  temperate  belt  were  intimately 
acquainted  everywhere  with  the  willow,  rhus,  cedar  bark,  Indian  hemp, 
bullrushes,  cat-tail,  vernal  and  other  grasses,  and  many  other  kinds 
of  filament ;  with  their  colors,  and  the  best  way  of  dyeing  them ;  and, 
what  is  most  noteworthy  in  this  connection,  these  cunning  savage 
women  knew  so  well  what  to  do  with  each  kind,  and  what  each  kind 
could  and  could  not  do,  that  every  effort  to  improve  their  methods 
has  failed." — Mason. 

Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson  says  of  the  Pomas  : 

"Collecting  and  preparing  the  materials  that  compose  a  basket  is 
almost  as  interesting  as  the  weaving.  The  most  necessary  material 


PIG.  79.     YOKUT  AND  POMA  BASKETS  FROM  THE  PRIVATE    COLLECTION 
OP  W.   D.   CAMPBELL,   LOS  ANGKiLES,   CAL. 

used  is  "kah  hoom"  (water  gift),  and  "kah  lall  (water  son)  or  willow 
shoots.  Both  are  in  baskets  of  nearly  all  sizes  or  uses.  Kah  lall  gives 
strength  and  shape,  while  the  kah  hoom  knits  together  the  ribs  and 
preserves  smoothness  in  outline.  These  two  plants  as  their  names 
imply,  grow  beside  or  in  the  shallow  edges  of  nearly  all  water  courses 
in  Mendocino. 

The  kah  hoom  is  taken  from  the  roots  of  a  California  variety  of  the 
well  known  slough  grass,  "carex  Mendocinoensis,"  so  abominable  .to 
orchardists,  and  so  defiant  of  his  plough  and  hoe  in  efforts  towards  its 
eradication.  The  finest  kali  hoom,  because  the  toughest  and  most 
capable  of  being  evenly  split,  grows  in  low,  sandy  bottom  land,  and 
necessarily  near  a  running  stream. 

The  Russian  River  near  the  small  town  of  Hopland,  annually  over 
flows  several  hundred  adjacent  acres,  and  before  the  thrifty  rancher 
found  the  true  value  of  this  rich  alluvium  in  hop  culture  the  digger  from 
rancherias  far  and  near  would  come  and  gather  these  preferred  root- 


MATERIALS    USED    IN    INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


81 


During  the  summer  months  and  even  far  into  the  fall,  as  long  as  the 
rising  waters  would  permit,  temporary  shahs  of  woven  willow  and 
alder  shoots  were  always  occupied  by  transient  bands  of  Indians.  Men 
and  women  here  worked  alike ;  for  this  occasion  the  dignity  and  indo 
lence  of  the  hombre  were  laid  aside.  Whether  he  really  liked  the  work, 
or  whether  envy  of  his  neighbor's  success  induces  him  to  assist  his 
wife,  it  is  difficult  to  say.  Armed  with  a  clam  shell  in  one  hand  and 
a  short  stick  in  the  other,  he  takes  a  bunch  of  this  grass  as  a  starting 
point,  and  lays  bare  its  radiating  roots.  Selecting  the  best  of  these, 
he  grasps  the  root  between  the  first  and  second  toe,  and  gently  lifts  it 
a  little,  to  indicate  its  hidden  course  under  the  sand  to  the  next  bunch. 
This  fact  ascertained  the  clam  shell  scoops  out,  while  the  stick  carefully 
loosens  all  stones  or  hardened  earth  in  its  path,  till  soon  a  little  trench 
some  three  or  four  inches  deep,  uncovers  the  beginning  of  this  kah 
hoom  gem.  The  work  is  slow  and  careful,  lest  the  sharp  edge  of  a  rock 
cut  or  bruise  the  tender  fibre,  whilst  in  the  rear  like  a  ship's  rudder  the 
guiding  foot  and  protecting  toe  keep  pace.  Perhaps  in  half  an  hour,  ac 
cording  to  the  condition  of  the  soil  and  disposition  of  the  digger,  the  en 
tire  length  (four  or  five  feet)  of  a  cream-colored  scaly  cord  about  half  the 
size  of  a  pencil  is  uncovered.  This  is  cut  out  as  long  as  possible,  taken 
immediately  to  the  river's  edge,  and  stretched  out  in  shallow  water. 
If  exposed  too  long  in  this  state  to  the  warm  air  it  becomes  dry  and 
brittle  beside  increasing  the  difficulty  of  removing  the  outer  rough 
bark.  A  good  day's  work  for  a  man  is  ten  kah  hoom,  but  a  majella 
will  often  double  this  amount,  not  because  she  is  quicker,  but  because 
she  abjures  those  little  necessities  of  her  liege's  noonday  hours,  the 
pipe  and  siesta. 

During  the  night  the  gem  becomes  thoroughly  soaked,  and  day 
break  finds  the  old  people  of  the  party  hard  at  work  literally  and 
actually  with  tooth  and  toe  nail,  stripping  off  the  bark.  This  process 
is  facinating,  yet  often  repulsive,  to  one  seeing  it  for  the  first  time. 
She  will  put  one  end  of  the  root  in  her  mouth,  mumble  it  around 
between  her  gums,  till  finally  the  warmth  and  saliva  break  up  the 
adhesion  and  fray  the  bark  loose.  This  fray  is  then  held  with  perhaps 
the  only  remaining  fang  in  her  jaw,  and  assisted  with  hands  and  toes 
in  holding  the  cord  taut,  she  scrapes  it  clean.  A  satisfaction  as  to  the 
thoroughness  of  the  job  is  manifested  by  a  grunt,  and  the  ejectment 
from  her  mouth  of  accumulated  debris.  For  hours  this  ancient  but 
willing  creature  will  squat  in  the  broiling  sun,  for  all  the  world  as  one 
pictures  an  anthropoid  ape  or  other  quadrumana ;  either  or  both  feet 
are  in  use  constantly,  as  essential  to  her  task  as  teeth  or  hands.  The 
kah  hoom  has  now  reached  its  second  stage  in  preparing,  and  is  only 
half  of  its  original  size,  closely  resembling  a  long,  creamy-tinted  tendon 
fresh  from  the  leg  or  neck  of  the  deer. 

When  a  family  starts  for  home  these  roots  are  made  into  coils  and 
packed  in  baskets  to  be  carried  on  the  majella's  backs,  be  the  distance 
five  or  twenty-five  miles.  The  procession  files  out,  the  hom'bres  in 
front,  burdened  only  with  what  the  females  cannot  carry ;  the  children 
follow,  close  in  front  of  their  mothers,  while  the  old  ones  waddle  behind, 
occasionally  reminded  of  the  dangers  from  a  panther  to  anyone  who 
lags. 

A  few  davs  later  the  kah  hoom  is  split  into  flat  strings,  varying 
in  width  from  a  tenth  to  a  twentieth  of  an  inch,  and  oftimes  as  thin  as 


82 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


an  apple  peeling.  This  was  formerly  accomplished  by  aid  of  a  bit  of 
sharp  obsidian  found  in  the  mountains,  but  now  the  American  case 
knife  is  universally  known  and  used.  The  fibre  of  this  root  is  very 
tough,  and  the  grain  so  even  that  a  tyro  can  split  it  from  end  to  end 
without  a  knife  and  cause  no  flaw.  Splittings  from  two  roots  make 
a  coil  convenient  to  handle,  and  this  is  hung  up  in  the  shah  ready 
for  the  basket  maker. 

The  next  important  thread  is  called  mil-lay,  which  is  the  generic 
digger  term  for  any  dark  red  bark.  Its  chief  requisites  other  than 
color  are  strength  and  thinness.  The  red  bud,  sumach,  and  rhus 
all  produce  good  mil-lay ;  but  the  best  and  rarest  specimen  is  the 
thin  skin  of  a  small  deciduous  shrub  growing  high  up  the  mountain 
side.  To  learn  its  habitat,  botanical  classification,  or  common  English 
name,  if  any.  has  thus  far  proven  an  impossibility.  Cajolery  and 
patient  search  have  been  fruitless ;  we  only  know  that  the  shoots  or 


3tfB«wsiJ»S5S$SB8$ 


FIG.  80.  FINE  YOKUT  DANCE  AND  OTHER  BASKETS. 

twigs  are  straight,  leafless,  and  never  larger  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
in  diameter. 

Steeped  for  an  hour  in  hot  water,  the  skin  loosens  so  that  a  simple 
incision  down  its  length  with  the  thumb  nail  is  ample  to  complete 
what  the  confined  steam  underneath  had  commenced.  These  woody 
cylinders  being  split  into  desired  widths  are  coiled  and  hung  with 
the  kah  hoom. 

We  have  now  the  two  threads  necessary  in  weaving  baskets  of 
utility,  but  there  is  a  third  one,  called  tsu  wish,  or  triplets,  because 
its  handsome  variety  is  taken  from  the  trifoliate  stems  of  the  maiden 
hair  fern  (Adiantum).  The  root  of  the  tule  (scirpus)  furnishes  a  long 
tsu  wish,  but  is  less  esteemed  than  the  fern,  being  coarser,  and  the 
color  not  quite  so  black  or  permanent. 

As  it  is  an  aquatic  plant  the  hombre  must  wade  after  it,  his 
educated  toes  performing  almost  the  entire  process  of  digging,  select 
ing,  and  loosening  up  the  root.  Its  color  when  first  taken  out  is  a 
dirty  brown,  but  when  denuded  of  its  useless  bark  it  is  similar  in 


MATERIALS     USED     IN     INDIAN     BASKETRY.  03 

appearance  to  the  kah  hoom,  differing  in  being  shorter,  and  studded 
with  minute  lateral  rootlets. 

Slitting  into  strings  requires  its  quota  of  caution,  for  tsu  wish 
is  rather  cross-grained  and  will  allow  no  carelessness.  Like  the  mil- 
lay  and  kah  hoom,  these  strings  are  also  coiled  and  hung  up  for  the 
basket  maker. 

Tsu  wish,  however,  is  valued  more  than  either  of  the  others, 
ranking  next  to  the  kiah,  or  wampum. 

"One  hundred  kiah  will  purchase  a  small  bunch  of  tsu  wish,  while 
this  amount  is  equivalent  to  five  bunches  of  kah  hoom,  or  six  of  mil- 
lay.  It  is  very  rarely  seen  in  any  but  ornamental  baskets,  or  those 
pertaining  to  political  or  religious  uses." 

Among  the  Snohomish  Indians  the  white  work  is  made  of  grasses 
that,  when  dry,  are  white  naturally.  "The  most  common  grass  used 


FIG.  81.     THREE  TYPES  OF  HOPI  BASKETRY.     THE    CENTER  BASKET  IN  FRONT  IS 
A   HADRUYA   OF   HAVASUPAI   WEAVE. 

for  this  purpose  is  the  so-called  'Mountain  Grass,'  found  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  the  Cascade  Mountains ;  it  dries  to  a  creamy  white  with  a 
sort  of  a  half-gloss  upon  its  surface.  For  the  black  shade,  succulent 
roots  or  grasses  are  chosen  which  naturally  dye  to  a  black.  Some 
times  the  purplish-black  stem  of  the  maiden-hair  fern  is  used  in  the 
texture  of  the  work  of  finer  texture.  As  a  rule  the  simpler  the  color 
scheme  the  more  likely  it  is  to  be  permanent  and  durable — and,  indeed, 
even  beautified  by  the  mellowing  of  time. 

"Further  chromatic  complexity  is  secured  by  the  use  of  juices  of 
various  berries  and  the  coloring  principles  of  the  commoner  indigenous 
plants." 

Most  of  the  California  Indians  use  the  wi11ow — chippa — the  long 
twigs  of  which  are  in  favor  the  world  over  for  this  purpose.  For 
the  woof  the  wood  of  the  redbud  (cercis  occidentalis  ;  Indian  name, 


84 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


pad-dit),  which  is  split  up  with  flints  or  the  finger-nails  into  fine 
strings,  used  substantially  as  thread.  The  willow  twig  is  passed  round 
and  round  the  basket,  the  butt  of  one  lapping  the  tip  of  the  other, 
while  the  red-bud  strings  are  sewn  over  the  upper  and  under  the  lower. 

The  Yuroks  use  willow  twigs  and  pine  roots,  and,  for  ornamenta 
tion,  black  rootlets  or  strips  of  bark. 

On  Tule  River  the  Yokuts  use  for  the  frame  work  or  warp,  not 
willows,  but  long  stalks  of  grass  (Sporobolus) ;  and  for  the  threads 
on  the  woof  various  barks  or  roots  split  fine — pine  roots  for  a  white 
color,  willow  bark  for  a  brown,  and  some  unknown  bark  for  a  black. 

In  Southern  California,  according  to  Professor  C.  F.  Holder,  "the 
material  differs  according  to  locality.  The  tule  grass  (Juncus  ro- 
bustus)  is  commonly  employed.  This  grass  is  collected  and  dried, 


FIG.   82.     APACHE  AND   PIMA  BOWLS,   ANCIENT   BASKET  FROM  SIA,   PAPAGO 
MEAL   BOWL,   UTE   WINNOWER,   HAVASUPAI  WATER  BOTTLE. 

and  what  are  often  thought  to  be  brushes  by  strangers  are  merely 
bunches  of  this  tule  prepared  for  the  weavers'  use.  A  tall,  thin  grass 
(Vilfa  rigens)  is  used  as  the  body  of  the  coil,  about  which  pieces  of 
the  juncus  are  wound.  Such  of  the  latter  as  are  intended  for  orna 
mentation  are  dyed  black  by  steeping  in  water  portions  of  Sueda  diffusa, 
and  a  rich  yellowish  brown  is  produced  in  a  like  manner  from  the 
plants  Dalea  Emoryi  and  Dalea  Polyadenia.  The  bottoms  of  large 
baskets  are  often  strengthened  by  introducing  twigs  of  Rhus  aromatica 
or  aromatic  oak." 

Among  the  Cahuillas  the  inner  grass  of  the  coil  is  called  "su-lim," 
and  is  akin  to  our  broom  corn  in  appearance.  The  coil  is  made  by 
wrapping  with  the  outer  husk  of  the  stalk  of  the  squaw  weed  and 
the  tule,  the  former  being  termed  "se-e-let"  and  the  latter  "se  eel." 

The  Hopi  makes  two  kinds  of  plaques  and  baskets,  viz. :  The  willow 
and  the  Yucca  or  Amole.  The  former  kind  is  made  in  the  village  of 
Oraibi  only,  and  the  latter  in  the  three  villages  of  the  middle  mesa 


MATERIALS     USED     IN     INDIAN    BASKETRY.  QO 

of  Tusayan.  The  filling  for  the  coil  of  the  latter  style  is  a  grass, 
which  looks  somewhat  similar  to  our  broom  corn,  but  which  bears 
the  name  "wu-u-shi."  The  outer  wrapping  of  the  coil  is  shredded  from 
the  Amole — one  of  the  Yucca  family — and  termed  by  the  Hopi  "mo-bi." 

Mr.  F.  V.  Coville  says  that  the  Panamint  Indian  women  of  Death 
Valley,  California,  make  their  baskets  of  the  year-old  shoots  of  tough 
willow  (Salix  lasiandra),  the  year-old  shoots  of  aromatic  sumac 
(Rhus  trilobata),  the  long  black  horns  on  the  pods  of  the  unicorn 
plant  (Martynia  proboscidea),  and  the  long  red  roots  of  the  tree 
yucca  (Yucca  brevifolia).  The  first  two  named  give  the  light  wood 
colors,  the  third  the  black  color  and  the  fourth  the  red.  The  women 
prepare  the  willow  and  the  sumac  in  the  same  way.  The  bark  is 
removed  from  the  fresh  shoots  by  biting  it  loose  at  the  end  and 
tearing  it  off.  The  woody  portion  is  scraped  to  remove  bud  protu 
berances  and  allowed  to  dry.  As  these  Indians  make  coiled  basketry, 
the  rods  just  described  form  the  basis  of  the  work.  The  splints  for 
sewing  are  prepared  as  follows :  A  squaw  selects  a  fresh  shoot, 
breaks  off  the  too  slender  upper  portion,  and  bites  one  end  so  that 
it  starts  to  split  into  three  nearly  equal  parts.  Holding  one  of  these 
parts  in  her  teeth  and  one  in  either  hand,  she  pulls  them  apart,  guiding 
the  splits  with  her  hand  so  dexterously  that  the  whole  root  is  divided 
into  three  nearly  even  portions.  Taking  one  of  these,  by  a  similar 
process  she  splits  off  the  pith  and  the  adjacent  less  flexible  tissue 
from  the  inner  face  and  the  bark  from  the  outer,  leaving  a  pliant, 
strong,  flat  strip  of  young  willow  or  sumac  wood.  This  serves  as  a 
fillet  in  sewing  or  whipping  the  coils  of  the  basket  together,  or  in 
twined  basketry  two  of  them  become  the  weft  or  filling.  The  coiled 
basketry  is  most  carefully  made.  In  the  olden  times  a  stout,  horny 
cactus  spine  from  the  devil's  pincushion  (Echinocactus  polycephalus), 
set  in  a  head  of  hard  pitch,  furnished  the  needle.  When  grass  stems 
are  carried  around  inside  the  coil  with  the  shoot  of  willow  or  rhus 
they  form  a  water-tight  packing  for  the  pot  baskets.  Patterns  in  red 
and  black  are  wrought  in  by  means  of  fillets  from  the  martynia  or 
fern  root. 

The  Pimas  and  Maricopas  use  the  sisal  willow,  the  squaw  weed,  the 
skunk  weed,  the  root  of  the  tule  and  the  martynia  or  cat's  claw,  as  do 
also  the  Paiutis  and  Havasupais.  The  shredded  leaves  of  the  yucca 
and  amole  are  often  used  as  the  filling  material  for  the  inner  coils. 

"The  tools  of  the  basket-maker  are  of  the  simplest  character — those 
necessary  to  the  harvesting  of  the  material  and  those  used  in  manu 
facture.  As  baskets  are  made  of  wood  in  one  place,  of  bark  in  another, 
and  of  grass,  bast,  skins,  roots,  and  so  forth,  according  to  locality,  the 
tools  for  harvesting  and  preparing  the  material  must  vary  irom  tribe  to 
tribe.  But  the  one  tool  that  is  never  absent  is  the  bone  awl  or  stiletto, 
which  is  useful  with  every  type  of  manufacture,  and  is  ever  present  in 
the  graves  of  primitive  women." — O.  T.  Mason. 


86 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


FIGS.    83    AND    84.     BONE    AWLS    USED    IN    BASKET  MAKING. 

* 


MATERIALS     USED     IN     INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


88 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
COLORS  IN  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

Some  *of  the  oldest  known  specimens  of  Indian  basketry  are  the 
finest  weave  but  without  decoration.  Hence,  as  Mrs.  Carr  writes,  "We 
conclude  that,  having  attained  perfection  in  these  respects,  the  native 
genius  reached  out  toward  'surface  embellishment  for  its  more  adequate 
expression.  What  they  found  to  be  the  only  mode  of  ornamentation 
which  would  not  interfere  with  the  smoothness  and  flatness  of  the  sur 
faces,  and  hence  with  the  durability  of  their  work,  was  color.  It  is 
precisely  at  this  point  that  the  fine  art  of  basketry  has  its  beginning. 

"As  the  woof  or  willow  coils  always  covered  the  more  perishable 
warps  of  grass  stems,  the  artist  was  necessarily  limited  to  changes  in 
the  woof,  and  to  purely  geometric  patterns.  Every  kindergartner  knows 
how  infinitely  varied  these  may  be,  and  how  every  new  combination 
stimulates  invention.  How  far  back  in  the  ages  the  discovery  was 
made  that  simply  by  breaking  off  the  plain  fillet  and  introducing  a 
colored  piece  in  its  place  pictures  might  be  made  in  basketry  we  never 
shall  know,  but  this  is  certain — the  result  has  proved  the  capacity  of  our 
patient  Indian  drudge  for  development  along  the  lines  which  have  made 
the  Japanese  so  wonderful  a  people. 

"The  Indian  women  were  very  skillful  in  the  preparation  of  dyes  and 
mordants,  and  of  the  colors  used,  black,  red,  and  various  shades  of 
brown,  were  permanent.  The  basket  hats  in  common  use  were  of  plain 
colors,  and  left  to  steep  in  the  dyes  for  months,  a  quantity  of  pigeon's 
dung  being  used  as  a  fixture." 

" Changes  of  color  on  the  surface  are  produced  by  varieties  of  the 
fundamental  monotonies.  The  geometric  decorations  on  basketry-  are 
variations  simply  in  number  and  color,  the  size  of  the  mesh  remaining 
uniform.  This  part  of  art  evolution  was  almost  exhausted  by  savage 
women.  Hence  one  sees  on  basketry  and  on  soft  textiles  alike  patterns 
which  the  modern  weaver  and  the  jeweler  are  never  tired  of  copying, 
which  have  become  classic,  and  entered  the  great  world-encompassing 
stream  of  art  forms,  pleasing  to  the  whole  species." — Mason. 

"Colors  in  textiles  are  produced  first  by  the  happy  mixture  of  natural 
materials  of  different  tints.  Often  the  two  sides  .of  the  leaf  will  give 
distinct  colors,  as  in  the  case  of  the  yuccas  (out  of  which  the  Hopi 
women  of  Arizona  make  the  pretty  and  substantial  meal  trays),  or  the 
palm  leaves  abounding  in  the  tropics.  The  Californian  women  get  a 
black  effect  with  martynia  pods,  a  deep  brown  with  the  stem  of  the 
maidenhair  fern,  a  bright  red  in  the  use  of  the  roots  of  a  yucca.  These 
added  to  the  wood  color  of  different  plants  produce  a  pleasing  variety. 
The  women  of  our  Pacific  coast  have  found  out  that  burying  spruce 
root  and  other  woody  fibres  in  certain  springs  or  muds  produces  a 
chocolate  color,  and  natural  dyeing  may  be  found  elsewhere.  But  our 
primitive  folk  also  know  how  to  make  dyes  from  mineral  and  vegetable 
substances  and  how  to  fix  colors  by  means  of  mordants.  Until  the  dis 
covery  of  the  coal-tar  dyes — a  plague  upon  them  ! — the  most  commonly 
used  colors  were  those  borrowed  from  the  hands  of  savage  women." 
— Mason. 


COLORS    IN   INDIAN   BASKETRY.  89 

Of  the  colors  used  by  the  Potawatomies  in  their  basketry  Simon 
Pokagon  says :  "They  are  proficient  in  the  production  of  natural 
colors  that  please  the  eye.  Those  best  skilled  in  the  art  educate  them 
selves  in  this  branch  of  their  work  by  watching  the  rainbow  in  the 
storm  and  the  golden  clouds  of  sunset.  In  fact  no  true  admirer  of  the 
beautiful  can  look  through  a  well-arranged,  bazaar  of  these  goods 
without  feeling  in  his  heart  that  they  must  have  been  dipped  in  the 
rainbow  and  washed  in  the  sunshine." 

The  squaw  grass — Xerophyllum  tenax — of  the  Klickitats'  basketry 
in  its  natural  color  is  white.  By  soaking  in  water  for  a  certain  length  of 
time  it  becomes  yellow,  and  one  of  the  rich  browns  is  created  by  soak 
ing  in  hot  water.  An  extract  of  willow  bark  also  gives  a  dark  brown, 
and  charcoal,  black.  Urine  as  a  mordaunt  was  almost  universal  with 
all  Indian  peoples,  though,  as  elsewhere  stated,  pigeon's  dung  was 
used  by  the  Southern  California  Indians  for  the  same  purpose.  Among 
the  Hopi,  Zunis,  Acomas  and  other  pueblo  Indians  of  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico  at  the  present  time  the  urine  is  often  preserved  for  this 
purpose,  and  many  times  I  have  seen  it  thus  used. 

The  Shastas  dye  their  white  grass  brown  with  an  extract  of  alder- 
bark,  and  they  use  their  maidenhair  fern  stem,  which  is  unfading,  and 
of  perfect  beauty  for  the  blacks  of  their  basketry. 

In  similar  fashion  the  Havasupais,  or  Kohoninos,  do  not  dye  their 
willows  black,  but  use,  instead  of  willows,  the  peeled  pod  of  the  mar- 
tynia,  which  is  jet  black  and,  as  far  as  I  have  seen,  fadeless. 

The  Hopi  use  plants,  blossoms  and  roots  from  which  they  largely 
distill  dyes  even  to  the  present  day,  though  most  of  their  modern  baskets 
are  degraded  by  aniline  dyes. 

Dr.  Hudson  thus  writes  of  the  dyeing  processes  of  the  Pomas: 
"The  gem  (either  the  kah  hoom  or  mil  lay)  is  evenly  painted  with  char 
coal  paste,  placed  in  the  bottom  of  a  pit,  much  resembling  a  grave  in 
proportions.  Willow  ashes  are  sprinkled  over  it  to  a  depth  of  two 
inches,  and  the  pit  finally  filled  with  loose,  damp  earth.  It  takes  nearly 
eighty  hours  for  the  charcoal,  potash,  and  tannin  to  complete  their 
chemical  action  in  producing  a  perfect  dye.  If  taken  out  too  soon  the 
color  will  be  a  dark  brown,  or  if  allowed  to  remain  several  hours  too 
long,  the  gem  will  be  eaten  into  and  rendered  worthless.  Successfully, 
done,  a  glossy  black  permeates  the  fibre  which  is  unimpaired  by  the 
burial." 

With  some  of  the  Southern  California  tribes  a  wild-bird  guano,  found 
in  quantities  where  native  roots  existed,  was  and  is  used.  A  small 
pool  by  the  side  of  a  brook  is  filled  with  the  prepared  splints  and 
then  covered  over  with  this  guano  in  a  moistened  condition.  A  month 
of  soaking  produces  a  lighr  chestnut,  and  a  longer  period  the  darker 
chestnuts.  Wild  berries  often  give  a  good  red. 

Among  the  Cahuillas  the  only  colors  used  are  black,  brown,  yellow 
and  white.  The  white,  yellow  and  brown  are  colors  natural  to  the 
growth  and  are  neither  bleached  nor  dyed.  The  black  is  made  by  taking 
a  pot  full  of  mud  from  the  sulphur  springs  that  abound  on  the  reserva 
tion  and  boiling  it,  stirring  the  mud  and  water  together.  As  the  mud 
settles  the  liquid  is  poured  off,  and,  while  hot,  is  used  to  color  the 
splints.  Two  or  three  "soakings"  are  necessary  to  give  a  fast  and 
perfect  color.  The  brown  is  the  natural  color  of  the  tule  root.  The 
outer  coating  is  peeled  off  into  splints  never  longer  than  ten  inches, 
but  generally  nearer  six  or  seven.  It  is  a  common  sight  to  find  "skeins" 


9°  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

of  this  basket-making  material  in  the  four  different  colors,  and  now  and 
again  one  may  see  the  patient  woman  peeling  off  the  cuticle  of  the 
tule  root,  stripping  the  skunk  weed,  boiling  the  black  mud  or  soaking 
the  skunk  weed  strips  in  the  black  dye. 

Native  Indian  dyes  are  permanent,  and  the  softening  touch  of  time 
gives  to  them  a  richness,  an  exquisite  harmony  in  gentle,  subtle  tone 
that  is  delightful  to  the  artistic  soul.  Some  one  has  well  written : 

"It  is  true  that  the  native  pigments  may  be  duller  and  that  they  do 
not  run  through  such  a  lengthy,  diverse,  and  brilliant  chromatic  gamut 
as  the  white  man's  dyes.  But  the  Indian  dyes  are  permanent,  and  they 
are  so  softened  by  the  mellowing  touch  of  time  as  to  gain  with  age  an 
exquisite  combination  of  color  values  altogether  inimitable.  Who  that 
desires  Indian  basketry  cares  for  mongrel  work?  What  of  a  piece  of 
Indian  work  masquerading  in  gaudy  garments  that  are  not  really  its 
own?  In  the  process  of  crossing,  the  individuality  and  the  distinctive- 
ness  are  almost  invariably  lost  and  the  decorative  scheme  has  degener 
ated  to  a  degree  such  as  fits  it  only  for  the  commercial  collector  of 
hodge-podge.  Most  of  the  Indian  basket  work  that  reaches  the  East 
is  a  degenerate  product  born  of  the  modern  commercial  spirit,  and  can 
never  hope  to  match  the  purer  form  of  aboriginal  days,  or  even  some 
types  yet  to  be  found  in  the  far  west — particularly  where  civilization 
has  touched  the  red  man  with  a  lightsome  touch  indeed." 

The  introduction  of  extraneous  substances,  such  as  beads  and 
feathers,  belongs  to  a  comparatively  \ate  period  in  the  history  of  the 
art.  In  the  feather  work  of  the  interior  tribes  we  find  proof  of  the 
delicacy  of  the  native  taste ;  no  inharmonious  colors  are  used ;  and  while 
the  splendor  of  the  color  seems  to  have  answered  every  demand,  this 
was  often  enhanced  by  contrast.  The  earlier  explorers  and  discoverers 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  reported  the  beauty  and  perfection  of  this  work  of 
the  Indian  woman.  Mr.  Stephen  Powers  describes  a  fancy  work  basket 
"covered  entirely  with  the  down  of  woodpeckers'  scalps,  among  which 
were  a  great  number  of  hanging  loops  of  strung  beads ;  and  around  the 
rim  an  upright  row  of  little  black  quails'  plumes  gaily  nodding."  There 
were  eighty  plumes,  which  required  the  sacrifice  of  as  many  quails  ; 
and  at  least  a  hundred  and  fifty  woodpeckers  had  been  robbed  to  furnish 
that  royal  scarlet  nap  for  the  outside. 

The  bits  of  shell  found  on  the  Poma  baskets  are  of  wampum,  or 
ka  yah.  These  are  made  from  the  clam  shells,  Saxidormis  gracilis  and 
Cardium  corbis.  The  shell  is  divided  into  roughly  rounded  disks,  ap 
proximately  the  size  desired,  and  then,  with  rude  hand  drill,  or  ka  win, 
bored  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other.  A  string  of  these  is  made  on 
a  willow  shoot  and  rolled  over  and  over  on  a  sandstone  slab,  on  which 
marble  dust  and  water  are  placed.  This,  to  the  Poma,  has  its  distinct 
monetary  value,  hence  to  find  it  on  a  basket  is  to  see  work  that  a 
majella  has  decorated  with  her  wealth. 

From  the  earliest  ages  color  has  had  definite  significance.  Mallery 
says :  "The  Babylonians  represented  the  Sun  and  its  sphere  of  motion 
by  gold,  the  Moon  by  silver,  Saturn  by  black,  Jupiter  by  orange,  Mars 
by  red,  Venus  by  pale  yellow,  and  Mercury  by  deep  blue.  Red  was 
anciently  and  generally  connected  with  divinity  and  power  both  priestly 
and  royal.  The  tabernacle  of  the  Israelites  was  covered  with  skins  dyed 
red,  and  the  gods  and  images  of  Egypt  and  Chaldea  were  of  that  color, 
which  to  this  day  is  the  one  distinguishing  the  Roman  Pontiff  and  the 
cardinals. 


COLORS    IN    INDIAN    BASKETRY.  91 

"In  ancient  art  each  color  had  a  mystic  sense  or  symbolism,  and  its 
proper  use  was  an  essential  consideration.  With  regard  to  early  Chris 
tian  art  Mrs.  Clement  furnishes  the  following  account : 

"White  is  worn  by  the  Saviour  after  his  resurrection;  by  the  Virgin 
in  representations  of  the  Assumption ;  by  women  as  the  emblem  of 
chastity;  by  rich  men  to  indicate  humility;  and  by  the  judge  as  the 
symbol  of  integrity.  It  is  represented  sometimes  by  silver  or  the  dia 
mond,  and  its  sentiment  is  purity,  virginity,  innocence,  faith,  joy,  and 
light. 

"Red,  the  color  of  the  ruby,  speaks  of  royalty,  fire,  divine  love,  the 
holy  spirit,  creative  power,  and  heat.  In  an  opposite  sense  it  symbol 
ized  blood,  war,  and  hatred.  Red  and  black  combined  were  the  colors 
of  Satan,  purgatory,  and  evil  spirits.  Red  and  white  roses  are  emblems 
of  love  and  innocence  or  love  and  wisdom,  as  in  the  garland  of  St. 
Cecilia. 

"Blue,  that  of  the  sapphire,  signified  heaven,  heavenly  love  and  truth, 
constancy  and  fidelity.  Christ  and  the  Virgin  Mary  wear  the  blue 
mantle;  St.  John  a  blue  tunic. 

"Green,  the  emerald,  the  color  of  spring,  expressed  hope  and  vic 
tory. 

"Yellow  or  gold  was  the  emblem  of  the  sun,  the  goodness  of  God, 
marriage  and  fruitfulness.  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Peter  wear  yellow.  Yel 
low  has  also  a  bad  signification  when  it  has  a  dirty,  dingy  hue,  such  as 
the  usual  dress  of  Judas,  and  then  signifies  jealousy,  inconstancy  and 
deceit. 

"Violet  or  amethyst  signified  passion  and  suffering  or  love  and 
truth.  Penitents,  as  the  Magdalene,  wear  it.  The  Madonna  wears  it 
after  the  crucifixion,  and  Christ  after  the  resurrection. 

"Gray  is  the  color  of  penance,  mourning,  humility  or  accused  inno 
cence. 

"Black  with  white  signified  humility,  mourning,  and  purity  of  life. 
Alone,  it  spoke  of  darkness,  wickedness,  and  death,  and  belonged  to 
Satan.  In  pictures  of  the  Temptation  Jesus  sometimes  wears  black." 

A  note  in  the  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  Vol.  I,  November. 
1887,  p.  190,  gives  another  list  substantially  as  follows :  "Yellow,  the* 
color  of  gold  and  fire,  symbolizes  reason.  Green,  the  color  of  vegetable 
life,  symbolizes  utility  and  labor.  Red,  the  color  of  blood,  symbolizes 
war  and  love.  Blue,  the  color  of  the  sky,  symbolizes  spiritual  life,  duty, 
religion." 

The  ceremonial  scheme  of  the  Navaho  colors  symbolic  of  the  car 
dinal  points  is  as  follows  :  "The  eagle  plumes  were  laid  to  the  east, 
and  near  by  them  white  corn  and  white  shell ;  the  blue  feathers  were 
laid  to  the  south,  with  blue  corn  and  turquoise ;  the  hawk  feathers  were 
laid  to  the  west,  writh  yellow  corn  and  abalone  shell ;  and  to  the  north 
were  laid  the  whippoorwill  feathers,  with  black  beads  and  corn  of  all 
the  several  colors." 

Mooney  says  that  the  symbolic  color  system  of  the  Cherokees  is  : 

East — red — success  ;  triumph.  North — blue — defeat ;  trouble. 
West — black — death.  South — white — peace  ;  happiness." 

Black  is  pretty  generally  the  color  of  death  and  mourning  among  the 
Amerinds,  as  it  is  with  many  civilized  races  to-day.  Red  is  a  sacred 
color  with  almost  all  Indians.  It  generally  symbolizes  the  blood,  the 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


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COLORS  IN  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  93 

life,  the  strength  of  man,  and,  therefore,  success.  This  explains  its 
common  use  on  body,  face,  lance,  war-pony,  shield,  etc.,  in  the 
dance,  and  when  going  on  the  war-path. 

Among  the  Mayas  the  four  cardinal  points  are  supposed  to  have 
been  represented  by  the  colors  blue,  yellow,  black  and  red.  Yellow  also 
suggested  to  them  the  ripening  of  fruit,  especially  their  chief  product, 
maize,  and  was,  therefore,  a  propitious,  a  good,  a  sacred  color. 

Among  the  Cheyennes  the  rivers  that  are  supposed  to  exist  in  the 
spirit  world  are  symbolized  by  colors,  as  blue  and  green,  etc. 

During  the  Ghost  Dance  those  who  were  about  to  perform  were 
always  painted  in  elaborate  designs  in  red,  yellow,  green  and  blue.  The 
sacred  colors  were  supposed  to  sharpen  the  spiritual  vision. 

Formerly,  among  the  Menomini  Indians  colors  were  made  from 
earth  pigments  and  represented  certain  degrees  of  initiation  into  the 
Grand  Medicine  Society.  Those  who  had  received  but  one  degree 
"were  allowed  and  expected  to  adorn  their  faces  by  making  a  white 
stripe  horizontally  across  the  forehead,  and  band  of  white  clay  of  a 
finger's  width,  and  extending  outward  as  far  as  the  outer  angle  of 
each  eye.  In  addition,  a  spot  of  green  about  an  inch  in  diameter  was 
placed  upon  the  middle  of  the  breast."  The  decorations  of  the  second 
degree  consisted  of  a  fanciful  application  to  the  face  of  red  ochre,  or 
vermillion,  and  one  spot  of  green  beneath  each  eye.  The  third  degree 
initiate  placed  a  stripe  of  green  so  as  to  extend  horizontally  outward 
from  the  corners  of  the  mouth.  The  fourth  degree  was  distinguished 
by  its  associates  painting  the  chin  with  green  paint. 

During  the  Ghost  Dance  excitement  Major.  MacMurray  visited 
Smohalla,  the  leader  of  a  tribe  that  bears  his  name.  They  are  of 
Shahaptian  stock  and  closely  akin  to  the  Yakima  and  Nez  Perces. 
Smohalla's  flag  illustrates  the  Indian's  ideas  in  regard  to  color,  and  also 
the  symbolism  of  signs.  The  flag  was  rectangular,  suggesting  a  target. 
In  the  center  of  the  flag  was  a  round  red  patch.  The  field  was  yellow, 
representing  grass,  which  is  there  of  a  yellow  hue  in  summer.  A  green 
border  indicated  the  boundary  of  the  world,  the  hills  being  moist  and 
green  near  their  tops.  At  the  top  of  the  flag  was  a  small  extension  of 
blue  color,  with  a  white  star  in  the  center.  Smohalla  explained :  "This 
is  my  flag,  and  it  represents  the  world.  God  told  me  to  look  after  my 
people — all  are  my  people.  There  are  four  ways  in  the  world — north 
and  south  and  east  and  west.  I  have  been  all  those  ways.  This  is  the 
center.  I  live  here.  The  red  spot  is  my  heart — everybody  can  see  it. 
The  yellow  grass  grows  everywhere  around  this  place.  The  green 
mountains  are  far  away  all  around  the  world.  There  is  only  water 
beyond,  salt  water.  The  blue  (referring  to  the  blue  cloth  strip)  is  the 
sky,  and  the  star  is  the  north  star.  That  star  never  changes ;  it  is 
always  in  the  same  place.  I  keep  my  heart  on  that  star.  I  never 
change."  The  venerated  garments  used  in  this  dance  were  of  white, 
red  and  blue,  old  and  sacred  colors. 

Among  the  Yakimas  of  Washington  yellow,  white  and  blue  repre 
sent  the  colors  of  the  celestial  world ;  hence  these  are  favorite  colors 
with  them.  Yellow  is  also  symbolic  of  the  celestial  glory;  white  of  the 
terrestrial  light  which  comes  from  "Those  Above,"  while  blue  is  the 
color  of  the  sky,  the  abode  of  the  gods. 

Among  the  Zunis  color  has  its  distinct  significance.  "Thus  the 
north  is  designated  as  yellow,  because  the  light  at  morning  and  even 
ing  in  winter  time  is  yellow,  as  also  is  the  auroral  light.  The  west  is 


94  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

known  as  the  blue  world,  not  only  because  of  the  blue  or  gray  twilight 
at  evening,  but  also  because  westward  from  Zuniland  lies  the  blue 
Pacific.  The  south  is  designated  as  red,  it  being  the  region  of  summer 
and  of  fire,  which  is  red ;  and  for  an  obvious  reason  the  east  is  desig 
nated  white  (like  dawn  light) ;  while  the  upper  region  is  many-colored, 
like  the  sunlight  on  the  clouds,  and  the  lower  region  black,  like  the 
caves  and  deep  springs  of  the  world.  Finally,  the  midmost,  so  often 
mentioned  in  the  following  outline,  is  colored  of  all  these  colors,  be 
cause,  being  representative  of  this  (which  is  the  central  world  and  of 
which  in  turn  Zuni  is  the  very  middle  or  navel),  it  contains  all  the 
other  quarters  or  regions,  or  is  at  least  divisible  into  them.  In  Zuni, 
the  above — the  region  of  the  sky — is  symbolized  by  any  and  all  colors, 
the  below  is  black.  Among  the  Hopi  (Moki)  the  reverse  is  the  case. 
With  the  Hopi  the  sacred  colors  of  the  cardinal  points  are  yellow,  green, 
red  and  white.  On  the  Antelope  altar  at  Shipauluvi  the  border,  like 
that  of  the  Walpi  altar,  was  composed  of  four  bands  of  sand,  colored 
yellow,  green,  red,  and  white,  respectively,  separated  by  black  lines,  as 
in  the  Antelope  sand  picture  at  Walpi.  This  border  inclosed  a  rect 
angular  field  on  which  were  depicted,  in  different  colored  sands,  the 
semicircular  rainclouds ;  four  yellow,  adjacent  to  the  border ;  three 
whole  and  two  half  semicircles  of  green ;  four  red,  and  three  whole  and 
two  half  semicircles  in  white.  All  of  these  were  outlined  with  black 


FIG.    88.     PSHU-KAN,    OR    FISH-NET    OF   POMAS 

lines.  On  the  remaining  part  of  the  inclosed  rectangle,  which  was  cov 
ered  with  white  sand,  there  were  four  zigzag  figures  with  triangular 
heads,  one  yellow,  one  green,  one  red,  and  one  white,  beginning  at  the 
left  of  the  sand  picture  as  one  approached  it  from  the  ladder.  Each  of 
these  figures  had  a  single  black  mark  on  the  neck  representing  a  neck 
lace,  and  a  curved  horn  on  the  left  side  of  the  head,  and  was  outlined 
in  black. 

In  order  that  different  colored  corn  may  grow  in  their  fields  the 
priests  often  take  pinches  of  these  different  colored  sands  from  iheir 
altars  and  sprinkle  them  in  their  corn  fields. 

The  Navahoes,  when  laying  down  their  sacred  corn,  follow  a  certain 
prescribed  order,  according  to  color.  The  white,  being  the  color  of  the 
east,  has  precedence  of  all  and  is  laid  down  first.  The  blue,  the  color 
of  the  south,  comes  next,  for  when  we  move  sunwise  (the  sacred  cere 
monial  circuit  of  the  Navahoes)  south  follows  immediately  after  east. 
Yellow,  the  color  of  the  west,  on  the  same  principle,  comes  third,  and 
black  (in  this  case  mixed)  comes  fourth.  Mixed  is  properly  the  color 
ing  of  the  upper  region,  and  usually  follows  after  black,  but  it  some 
times  takes  the  place  of  black.  These  apparently  superfluous  particu 
lars  of  laying  down  the  corn  have  a  ceremonial  or  religious  significance. 


COLORS  IN  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


95 


In  placing  sacred  objects  ceremonially  in  a  straight  row,  the  operator 
proceeds  southward  from  his  starting-point,  for  this  approximates  the 
sunwise  circuit,  and  he  makes  the  tip  ends  point  east. 

I  have  not  attempted  an  exhaustive  presentation  of  this  interesting 
subject,  but  I  have  sufficiently  shown  that  it  is  a  complex  and  fascinat 
ing  one  when  reasonably  understood.  One  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  writing  upon  such  matters  is  to  clear  away  the  rubbish.  It  is  an 
ungracious  task  for  which  enmity  and  abuse  are  often  the  chief  re 
turns.  Not  only  must  the  author  satisfy  himself  of  the  weight  that 
should  be  given  to  that  which  he  reads,  and  sift  out  all  that  seems 
unreliable,  but  he  must  now  and  again  take  it  upon  himself  to  warn  his 


FIG.    89.     POM  A  BAM-TUSH   WEAVE 


readers  against  the  grossly  erroneous  statements  made  by  those  who 
pose  as  experts  and  authorities.  For  instance,  one  author  asserts  that 
the  "real"  Indian  hues  are  "red,  white  and  blue,"  and  that  the  other 
colors  are  accursed.  That  this  statement  is  an  utterly  foolish  and  taisc 
one  I  think  I  have  satisfactorily  shown  by  my  quotations  from  acknow 
ledged  authorities,  and  those  who  desire  to  pursue  the  subject  further 
will  find  it  well  discussed  in  the  Tenth  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


96  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

CHAPTER  V1I1. 
WEAVES  OR  STITCHES  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

To  the  casual  observer  there  are  but  slight  differences  to  be  noted 
in  the  stitches  or  methods  of  weaving  followed  by  different  tribes  in 
their  basketry.  The  subject  is  presented  in  various  phases  in  preceding 
or  succeeding  chapters,  but  I  deem  it  of  sufficient  interest  and  im 
portance  to  devote  a  special  chapter  to  its  immediate  consideration. 

How  a  hasty  and  ignorant  generalizer  may  draw  false  conclusions 
and  thus  mislead  others,  when  those  conclusions  are  presented  in  a 
magazine  that  is  edited  by  a  loudly  boastful  "expert,"  is  evidenced  by 
the  following  extract:  "With  infinite  care  and  patience  the  Indian 
woman  weaves  the  flexible  twigs  of  trees,  or  the  stems  of  reeds  and  the 
long  grass  stalks  into  a  shape  so  perfect  that  you  wonder  at  the  beauty 
of  it ;  counting  her  stitches  so  carefully  that  seldom  does  the  decorative 
pattern  fail  to  join  properly.  There  are,  practically,  but  two  kinds  of 
weaving,  the  horizontal  and  the  upright." 

Now  compare  the  latter  part  of  this  "expert"  statement  with 
the  modest  declaration  of  an  "amateur,"  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson,  who  has 
made,  according  to  Dr.  Otis  T.  Mason,  "the  best  scientific  collection 
of  basketry  known  to  the  writer  from  any  people  on  the  earth."  Dr. 
Hudson  states  that  the  Poma  of  to-day  uses  nine  distinct  weaves,  and 
that  in  old  baskets  are  found  five  others  that  are  now  extinct.  Of  these 
latter  five  he  exclaims  :  "Happy  the  collector  that  possesses  one  of 
such." 

The  following  descriptions  of  Poma  weaves  are  written  by  Dr.  Hud 
son  or  Dr.  Mason : 

Pshu-kan.  "In  this  type  a  number  of  upright  work-rods  are  held 
together  by  pairs  of  hazel  or  willow  shoots  passing  around  horizontally, 
as  in  a  winding  stairway,  and  making  a  half  twist  in  each  space  as  in 
a  wattle  hedge  or  fence,  enclosing  also  a  horizontal  stern  as  in  the  fine 
"ti"  style.  In  the  fish  weirs  and  coarser  articles  the  rough  material  is 
used,  but  in  household  utensils  the  willow  may  be  decorticated  and  even 
polished.  The  original  material  for  articles  of  this  kind  was  hazel, 
(shu-ba)." — Mason. 

"Pshu-kan  means  fish  net,  and  the  weave  known  by  this  name  was 
undoubtedly  the  Pomas'  first  crude  effort  toward  basketry.  The  idea 
was  suggested  probably  to  the  savage  mind  in  noting  the  salmon's 
difficulty  in  passing  through  submerged  interlacing  limbs  of  some  fallen 
tree.  Artificial  dams  followed,  then  wiers,  then  vehicles  to  facilitate 
the  handling  and  carrying  home  of  their  slippery  game,  then  domestic 
utensils  and  houses.  To  strength,  further  improvement  has  added  light 
ness  and  symmetry,  till  we  find  in  the  present  Pshu-kan  much  to  admire. 
In  all  but  the  strongest  packing  baskets,  willow  shoots  have  since  super- 
ceded  alder  limbs,  and  each  rib  is  bound  with  kali  hoom." — Hudson. 

2.  Pshu-tsin.  "This  is  an  obsolete  method  of  binding  house  raft 
ers,  stationary  granaries,  game  fences,  etc.,  with  split  grape-vine 
weft  by  starting  at  the  periphery  at  intervals  and  spirally  looping  each 
second  rib,  on  and  up  to  the  common  centre." — Hudson. 

3.     Bam-tush.     "A  style  of  twined  weaving  called,  in  the  Poma  Ian- 


WEAVES  OR  STITCHES   OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


97 


guage,  bam-tush,  from  bam-tu,  a  grape-vine,  the  original  material ;  but 
this  has  been  discarded  for  stronger  and  more  polished  substances. 
In  the  splints  used  for  this  style  of  basketry,  the  brown  bark  and  the  pale 
yellow  interior  of  the  stem  afford  the  basket  maker  an  opportunity  for- 
ornamentation.  By  the  tenm  bam-tush  is  evidently  meant  the  plain 
twined  weaving  in  which  only  one  warp  stem  is  included  in  each  half- 
turn  of  the  weft." — Mason. 

This  style  of  weave  is  illustrated  in  Figs.  89  and  90. 

Dr.  Hudson  thus  describes  the  bam-tush :  "Three  boms  are  laid  side 
by  side  across  the  centers  of  a  similar  bunch  at  right  angles,  and  the  six 
bound  together  at  their  intersection  with  kah  hoom.  This  done,  the  two 
ends  of  thread  select  a  rib  and  bind  it  from  above  and  below,  twisting  on 
themselves  before  grasping  the  next  radiating  bom.  The  process  con- 


FIG.  90. 


POMA   "BAM-TUSH"    GRANARY 
AND    "SHI-PUl"    TOY. 


FIG.  91.     NORTH  COAST  BASKET 
OF  VICIOUS   FORM. 


tinues  around  in  a  gradually  increasing  spiral  until  spaces  require  extra 
ribs.  These,  sharpened  at  the  end,  fit  snugly  into  openings  between 
stitches  made  with  a  bone  awl.  According  to  the  shape  desired,  boms 
are  inserted  or  taken  out,  all  ends  being  carefully  covered. 

Patterns  make  their  first  appearance  in  this  weave,  and  to  accom 
plish  this  a  change  of  thread  is  required,  mil-lay  being  substituted,  its 
smooth  side  presenting  a  burnt  sienna  hue  in  contrast  to  the  pale  lemon 
of  the  kah-hoom.  We  often  find  rings  of  shi-tsin,  or  "ti"  stitch,  worked 
in  at  intervals,  increasing  in  stability  and  artistic  effect,  for  during  and 
after  this  period  neither  of  these  two  qualities  are  allowed  preponder 
ance.  In  smaller  pieces  of  work,  like  the  pinole  mush  basket  or  those 
designed  for  cooking  utensils,  the  rim  is  left  raw,  but  the  big  cone 
shapes  require  a  hoop  of  alder  lashed  over  with  fir  fibre. 

A  bam-tush  basket  is  readily  recognised  by  the  vertical  ribs,  each 
of  which  is  plainly  indicated  from  bottom  to  top.  Closer  inspection 


98 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


finds  weight,  durability,  and  a  mesh  sufficient  to  retain  any  seed  larger 
than  mustard. 

Fig.  91  is  here  introduced  as  a  striking-  contrast  to  the  simple  and 
natural  forms  of  the  Pomas.  This  is  a  Northern  Pacific  coast  basket, 
and  construction  and  use  are  sacrificed  to  a  false  idea  of  beauty. 
y^Shu-set.  "Among  the  Poma  the  shu-set  is  the  most  highly  decor 
ated  of  this  type  of  weaving.  Upon  the  pieces  marked  as  belonging  to 
this  type  there  are  two  styles  of  manipulation.  In  all  cases,  however, 
the  twine  stitch  or  mesh  passes  over  two  warp  strands  instead  of  one, 
so  that  the  ribbed  appearance  on  the  outside  has  a  diagonal  effect.  This 


FIG.    92.     POMA    "SHU-SET"    AND    "TI"    WEAVES. 

method  is  always  employed  in  the  Ute  basketry  and  as  far  south  as  the 
Pueblo  country."     See  Fig.  92. 

Dr.  Hudson  thus  writes  of  shu-set :  "Beauty  seems  to  have  been  the 
incentive'  in  its  conception,  though  baskets  of  this  kind  possess  no  un 
usual  shapes  or  uses.  Their  pretentions  to  the  eye  lie  in  a  smoothness, 
a  perfection  in  outline  and  color,  that  somehow  remind  you  of  a  deli 
cately  rounded,  warm  cheek.  Not  a  flaw,  discoloration  or  projection 
can  be  found  on  its  surface,  for  this  weave  is  capable  of  great  possi 
bilities  in  effective  displays.  In  all  other  textiles  the  pattern  is  woven 
through,  that  is,  the  mil-lay  or  tsu  wish  threads  invariably  keep  their 
colored  side  away  from  the  rib  they  cover.  The  shu  set  is  the  only 
exception  of  this  rule,  its  interior  exhibiting  only  slight  indications 
of  the  external  color.  The  reason  for  this  becomes  obvious,  on  seeing 


WEAVES   OR   STITCHES   OP   INDIAN   BASKETRY.  QQ 

the  weaver  carry  the  stitch  through  without  twisting.  Shu-sets  were 
not  intended  for  hard  usage — in  some  degree  utility  has  been  sacrificed 
to  grace.  It  is  the  lightest  and  most  fragile  textile  made  by  the  Pomas. 
Preparation  consumes  much  time,  for  only  the  toughest,  smallest, 
and  most  flexible  boms  are  selected, — also  unusually  thin,  even  thread. 
Begun  in  the  same  manner  as  bam  tush  the  change  occurs  several 
inches  from  the  center.  Instead  of  wrapping  a  single  bom  from  each 
side,  the  threads  cross  each  other,  untwisted  in  every  other  space,  thus 
binding  two  boms  in  one  loop.  (Fig.  93  S.)  A  shu  set  foundation 
called  sil  lick  (spider),  from  its  appearance,  illustrates  the  point. 

As  may  be  supposed,  this  weave  requires  more  ribs  than  the  bam 
tushs,  in  fact,  about  twice  as  many.  The  mesh  is  comparatively 
open,  but  is  serviceable  in  carrying  seeds  of  clover,  tar  weed,  or  wild 
millet.  Ovoid  shapes  answer  as  receptacles  for  sugar,  coffee,  trinkets, 
clothing,  etc. 

As  indicated  by  its  shape,  the  conical  is  the  basket  of  transpor- 


FIG.    93.     POMA    BASKET    MATERIAL    AND    FOUNDATION. 

tation,  being  held  on  the  back  in  a  net  whose  head  band  passes  over 
the  carrier's  brows.  They  supply  the  place  in  an  Indian's  needs  that  a 
wheelbarrow  does  in  ours,  the  capacities  of  each  being  equal,  and  if  any 
discrepancy  exists,  it  is  not  in  favor  of  the  wheelbarrow." — Hudson. 

Lit.  An  accessory  weave  to  the  shu-set  is  the  Lit,  which  is  "em 
ployed  to  preserve  symmetry  of  outline  and  harmony  of  pattern  when 
the  pattern  requires  change  of  color.  It  is  a  distinct  method  of  weave, 
however,  and  specimens  can  be  woven  entirely  by  it,  though  it  is  rather 
too  delicate  and  unstable  for  practical  purposes. "—Hudson. 

Ti.  "This  is  the  Poma  name  for  a  style  of  twined  weaving  in  which 
four  elements  are  employed,  namely  (a)  a  set  of  perpendicular  warp- 
stems,  usually  of  willow  (Salix  hindsiana) ;  (b)  a  stem  of  the  same  mate 
rial  carried  around,  in  the  form  of  a  coil,  horizontally  on  the  outside 
of  the  upright  warp-stems  ;  (c)  a  regular  course  of  twined  weaving,  with 
two  splints,  which  at  each  half  turn  encloses  the  upright  and  horizontal 
warp-stem.  This  makes  a  very  solid  double  basket  for  domestic 


100 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


WEAVES   OR  STITCHES  OF  INDIAN   BASKETRY.  IOI 

purposes.  (See  Fig.  92  the  large  basket  to  the  right).  On  the  outside 
the  appearance  is  that  of  the  shu-set  basketry,  but  the  ridges  are 
diagonal ;  on  the  inside  the  appearance  is  that  of  the  bam-tush  or  plain 
twined  weaving." — Mason. 

The  interior  of  a  timpekah  is  identical  in  appearance  to  the  ribbed 
bam  tush,  but,  viewed  externally,  the  intricacies  of  this  most  difficult 
and  tedious  of  useful  weaves  is  made  manifest. 

The  fact  is,  that  a  ti  is  a  double  basket,  consisting  of  an  inner  bam 
tush  supplemented  with  an  extra  rib  externally,  which,  commencing 
below  at  the  common  center,  accompanies  and  participates  in  each 
stitch  in  ever-increasing  spirals  to  the  rim.  In  making,  a  ti  consumes 
nearly  twice  the  time  and  material  of  any  basket  yet  mentioned,  and  is 
esteemed  as  highly  as  any  in  the  catalogue.  Its  qualities  are,  exceeding 
durability,  with  lightness ;  its  uses,  cooking  mush  and  pinole,  boiling 


FIG.    96.     POMA    "SHI-BU." 

water,  storing  fluids,  parching  wheat  or  other  grains,  and  as  mortars 
for  pounding  out  flour.  The  largest  ti  in  Fig.  92  was  over  twelve 
months  in  constructing,  while  the  larger  bam-tush  Fig.  90  took  less 
time  and  care.  The  spiral  rib  in  a  ti  necessitates  its  wrapping  being 
put  on  a  slant,  thus  giving  the  pattern  an  indistinctness  to  be  seen 
in  no  other  weave. 

The  Poma  meaning  of  the  word  "ti"  is  ponderous,  stable,  unyield 
ing,  and  it  well  describes  the  strong  double-weave  of  the  Pomas  where 
durability  is  required. 

Dah-lah  is  the  Poma  word  for  plate;  hence  ti  dah-lah  is  a  platter 
of  the  ti  make.  It  is  exhilarating  to  watch  an  old  crone  toast  wheat. 
With  bended  shoulders  and  pursed-out  lips,  she  frantically  waves  a 
dah-lah  at  arm's  length ;  the  grains  and  glowing  coals  dance  in  unison 
to  her  puffs,  while,  "black  in  the  face,"  she  is  "never  out  of  breath  till 
the  task  is  done." — Hudson. 

"In  addition  to  these  species  of  twined  weaving  the  following  are 


IO2 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


employed  by  the  Pomas  in  bottoms  or  bands  of  ornamentation  and 
occasionally  in  the  strands  of  the  basket : 

(a)  "Three-ply  twine,  by  which  is  meant  the  employment  of  three 
members  or  filaments  instead  of  two  in  the  twining.  In  the  process 
of  twisting,  when  the  third  of  a  turn  is  made,  one  of  the  filaments  is 
caught  over  a  warp-stem,  at  the  next  third  another  filament,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  whole  turn  the  third  is  caught  over,  and  so  on,  the  process 
being  repeated  from  round  to  round.  A  moment's  thought  will  show 
that  upon  the  outside  two  of  the  strands  will  always  be  shown,  while  on 
the  inside,  therefore,  will  be  that  of  plain  twined  weaving ;  but  on  the 
outside  it  will  be  diagonal,  in  which  each  of  the  stitches  passes  over  two 
warp-stems  and,  under  the  circumstances,  are  imbricated  or  overlap 
ping. 


FIG.   97.     POMA   "TSI"   AND   "BAM-TSU-WU." 

(b)  Three-ply  braid  (shi-tsin),  used  on  bottoms  and  resembling  the 
last-named,  save  that  the  filaments  are  plaited  instead  of  twisted,  but 
alternately  they  pass  one  at  a  time  over  warp-stems  on  the  inside,  and  on 
the  outside  this  is  distinguishable  from  a." — Mason. 

Dr.  Hudson  writes  of  shi-tsin :  "Gathering  of  acorns  necessitated 
a  closer  mesh ;  small  seed,  still  finer,  and  lastly,  the  water-tight  basket 
was  evolved.  In  this  order  the  shi-tsin  weave  followed  the  pshu  kan. 
But  two  specimens  of  this  second  stage  in  textile  improvement  have 
been  discovered  during  the  past  four  years,  both  of  them  so  battered 
out  of  shape  and  black  with  age  as  to  obliterate  all  vestiges  of  pattern, 
if  any  ever  existed.  However,  their  manner  of  construction  yet  re 
mains  to  supply  an  important  link  in  the  evolution  of  the  basket. 
Willow  limbs  the  size  of  a  pencil  form  ribs  or  bones  running  from  rim 


WEAVES    OR   STITCHES   OF   INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


103 


down  across  the  bottom  and  back  to  the  rim  again  on  the  opposite  side, 
thus  multiplying  the  bottom's  strength  while  giving  it  a  rough,  clumsy 
appearance.  Deer  tendon  is  probably  the  binding  thread  used,  three 
ribs  being  taken  in  at  one  wrap. 

Such  vessels  must  have  answered  a  variety  of  uses,  from  the  gather- 
:ng  of  nuts  and  storing  the  same,  or  other  mah-ha  for  food,  to  packing 
of  fuel.  This  weave  has  long  since  been  abandoned,  except  in  cases 
where  ;ts  use  adds  extra  strength  and  variety  to  baskets  of  different 
constructions."  Later  he  writes  of  this  weave :  "This  weave  or  weft  is 
identical  with  our  three  ply  braid  or  plait.  It  is  too  cumbersome  to 
be  employed  alone,  but  is  often  found  in  rings  in  specimens  of  other 
weaves  ti  (bamtush)  as  a  reinforcement  or  stiffener  of  particular  parts 
of  the  basket,  especially  on  the  bottoms  or  convexities." 


FIGS.  98-102. 

ORNAMENTED    "SHI-BU" 
OF   THE   POMAS. 


He  also  describes  tsa-wam :  "This  is  to  braid  with  a  single  filament. 
Ir  is  found  only  in  the  baby  transport  cradle,  which  is  always  made  by 
men.  It  is  a  series  of  half  stitches  crossing  back  and  forth,  and  is 
efficient  for  binding  the  warp  firmly." 

The  coiled  style  of  weave  is  called  Shi-bu  by  the  Pomas  and  of  this 
there  are  three  distinct  types,  viz.,  the  Tsai  or  barn-tea  (one  rib),  the 
bam-tsu-wu  (three  ribs)  and  the  shi-lo. 

Of  these  Dr.  Hudson  thus  writes :  "I  have  thus  described  the 
various  modes  of  binding  together  a  wooden  fabric  whose  initial  ribs, 
few  in  number,  multiply  in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  its  outline ; 
whose  ribs  also  lie  in  vertical  planes,  while  their  two  wrappings  incline 
to  a  horizontal.  Native  ingenuity  seems  to  have  exhausted  itself  in  this 
line,  and  experimenting  with  coil  and  spirals  was  begun.  No  doubt  the 
outer  half  of  the  ti  suggested  the  effort  toward  departure  from  ortho 
dox  methods.  How  complete  has  been  the  success  of  those  ancient 
experiments  a  close  study  of  Fig.  96,  will  reveal. 


IO4 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


Shi  bu  baskets  are  made  in  three  ways,  each  having  a  mode  of  pro 
cedure  peculiar  to  itself.  A  specimen  of  the  earliest  demonstration  of 
shi-bu  practicability  can  be  seen  in  No.  175,  Fig.  96,  an  unsightly 
affair,  void  of  all  merit  but  stability  and  interest  to  antiquarians.  Its 
composition  is  a  single  uninterrupted  thread,  binding  a  series  of  super 
imposed  spirals  by  piercing  the  upper  edge  of  the  next  spiral  beneath, 
this  spiral  consisting  of  six  fir  fibres  parallel  and  in  juxtaposition. 
Pattern  is  an  impossibility,  because  nearly  half  the  coil  is  uncovered 
and  the  thread  itself  so  coarse  that  color  would  provoke  ridicule. 

Tsai  was  an  improvement.  A  single  bom,  uniform  in  size  through 
out  is  so  bent  on  itself  as  to  simulate  the  coil  of  a  rattlesnake.  After  the 
first  circle  is  completed,  both  boms  are  enclosed  in  one  wrap,  the  third 
bom  is  bound  to  the  second  in  the  same  manner,  the  stitches  passing 
through  and  closing  interstices  between  the  first  and  second.  Fig.  93 
B  illustrates  stages,  and  Nos.  55,  Fig.  96,  53  and  49,  Fig.  97,  the 
complete  tsai. 


PIG.  103      YOKUT,  POMA  AND  EEL,  RIVER  BASKETS. 

% 

Bam  tsu  wu  (triplet  boms)  is  our  last ;  most  tedious  in  construction, 
most  capable  of  ornametation,  and  most  prolific  in  aesthetic  effects. 

A,  A,  of  Fig.  93,  explain  in  detail  the  ground  plan  of  the  two 
ordinary  shapes.  Three  boms  here  form  the  coil,  which  is  held  together 
and  to  the  next  lower  coil  by  a  thread  envelope  catching  the  loops  on 
top  of  the  adjacent  lower  coil.  Nos.  278,  247,  Fig.  96,  are  fine  speci 
mens  of  unornamented  bam  tsu  wu,  while  Fig.  95  presents  a  few 
choice  feathered  ones.  However,  among  the  latter,  No.  65,  Fig.  95  is  a 
ti.  quite  rare,  with  its  quail  plumes.  The  use  of  feathers  is  of  compara 
tively  recent  date,  though  prevalent  at  the  pioneer's  advent.  Its  era 
may  be  safely  located  after  the  conception  of  bam  tsu  wu,  which  was 
doubtless  created  for  this  purpose. 

As  a  work  of  art  the  shi  bu  basket  deserves  all  the  reputation  it  has 
received  and  more ;  for  untold  generations  these  people  have  concen 
trated  their  ingenuity  and  energy  in  perfecting  a  peculiar  fibrous  textile, 


WEAVES   OR  STITCHES   OF  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


105 


and  the  result  has  been  acknowledged  by  critics  to  be  the  peer  among 
curios  from  all  the  barbaric  nations  of  the  earth.  It  is  marvelous  how 
one  family,  relegated  from  birth  to  one  secluded  spot,  surrounded  by 
rude,  unsympathetic  nomads,  deprived  of  all  resources  but  those  nature 
created  with  them,  should  develop  such  an  art  and  cherish  it.  It  was 
not  the  demand  of  a  necessity,  but  the  pursuit  of  an  ideal." — Hudson. 

In  1892  my  well  informed  friend,  Mrs.  Jeanne  C.  Carr,  wrote :  "The 
finest  as  well  as  the.  largest  California  baskets  are  of  the  coiled  variety. 
The  simplicity  of  their  construction  is  well  shown  in  the  illustration 


FIG.  104.     PAUMA  GRANARY,  TRINKET  BASKETS,   WATER  BOTTLES  AND  HAT. 

(Fig.  104),  which  presents  the  bottom  of  a  very  old  Indian  basket  from 
the  Pauma  reservation  in  San  Diego  County,  California.  The  full  size 
of  this  basket  can  be  better  understood  by  a  glance  at  Fig.  231.  Gregoria 
Majal,  who  made  it,  wove  such  a  granary  for  each  of  her  three 
daughters,  who  are  venerable  women ;  yet  Gregoria's  strength  and 
skill  are  even  now  fully  competent  for  work  of  this  quality.  This  store 
house  is  nine  feet  and  nine  inches  in  circumference,  three  feet  deep, 
and  has  only  four  coils  or  stitches  to  the  inch  of  weaving.  Fifteen 
stitches  is  considered  a  fine  weave,  the  finest  ever  seen  by  the  writer 
had  twenty-eight  to  the  inch,  and  was  truly  a  perfect  work  of  art." 

Yet  Dr.  Hudson  says  of  the  Poma  weaves  :  "An  ordinary  shi  bu 
contains  eighteen  stitches  to  the  inch,  as  in  Nos.  255  and  71,  Fig.  97,  but 
those  on  either  side  boast  of  forty-two  to  fifty-one  within  this  measure- 


io6 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


WEAVES   OR   STITCHES   OF   INDIAN   BASKETRY.  IO/ 

ment.    Their  equals  will  probably  never  be  seen,  for  their  makers  are 
now  on  the  eve  of  final  departure." 

Despite  this  statement,  however,  there  is  a  California  basket  in  the 
private  collection  of  Mr.  W.  D.  Campbell,  of  Los  Angeles,  w.hich  has 
fifty-three  stitches  to  the  inch,  a  most  wonderful  and  exquisite  piece  of 
work. 

In  Fig.  57  I  have  marked  a  basket  with  the  letter  M.  This  is  a 
typical  Mescalero  Apache  coiled  basket.  In  weave  coarse  and  crude, 
in  color  neither  striking  nor  harmonious,  it  represents  a  low  stage  of  the 
art.  Not  until  the  commercial  aspect  of  basketry  presented  itself  to 
these  pepole,  did  they  attempt  to  do  much  at  it,  and  the  result  is  their 
efforts  are  neither  skillful  nor  pleasing. 

In  the  San  Carlos  and  White  Mountain  Apaches,  however,  one  has 
an  entirely  different  class  of  weavers  to  deal  with.  Here  are  experts, 
proud  of  the  fineness  of  their  work,  poetic  in  the  designs  they  conceive 
and  accomplished  in  weaving  that  which  they  imagine.  Their  basketry 
is  of  the  coiled  order  and  made  generally  of  willow  or  twigs  that  are 
much  similar.  One  or  more  willows  serve  for  the  inside  of  the  coil,  and 
willow  splints  are  wrapped  around  and  caught  into  the  coil  below. 
Black  and  white  are  the  main  colors,  the  body  of  the  basket,  of  course, 
always  being  white  and  the  design  worked  out  with  black,  which  is 
generally  the  pod  of  the  martynia.  The  more  skillful  weavers  model 
their  ware  in  a  variety  of  shapes,  so  that  one  can  have  flat-bottomed 
bowls,  conical  bowls,  saucers,  jars  of  varied  forms,  bottles  with  wide 
necks,  oval  trinket  baskets  and  the  like.  Fig.  105  was  made  by  a  White 
Mountain  Apache  and  is  possibly  the  largest  in  existence.  It  is  over  40 
inches  in  diameter  and  42  inches  high,  and  contains  fully  a  quarter  of  a 
million  stitches.  It  took  Jattalouisa,  its  maker,  two  years  to  make,  and 
its  perfect  shape  attests  her  skill  and  patience.  There  is  nothing  distinc 
tive  about  the  design  and  the  chief  value  of  such  a  basket  is  in  its  size 
and  perfect  shape,  it  being  a  remarkable  example  of  what  can  be  accom 
plished  in  this  regard.  Such  baskets  were  originally  used  as  granaries 
and  may  still  be  found  doing  similar  service.  It  is  in  the  Plimpton  col 
lection,  in  San  Diego,  California. 

Fig.  106  is  a  fine  specimen  of  an  Apache  water  bottle.  This  is  much 
more  beautifully  and  closely  woven  than  the  similar  work  of  the  Paiutis, 
care  being  taken  to  make  the  basket  water  tight  without  covering  with 
gum.  The  design  of  this  basket  is  fully  explained  in  the  chapter  on 
Symbolism. 

The  Paiutis  make  three  separate  and  distinct  styles  of  baskets,  as 
well  as  their  "pa-bi-chi,"  or  baby  cradle.  Their  mush  bowls  are  very 
similar  to  the  work  of  the  Apaches  and  Cahuillas,  yet  in  weave  are 
slightly  different.  Aromatic  sumac  (Rhus  aromatica,  Var.  trilobata), 
split  to  the  required  width,  and  colored  or  white  as  desired,  is  used  as 
the  wrapping  splint.  The  inner  coil  is  composed  of  yucca,  bast  or  fiber, 
two  or  three  or  more  strips  according  to  the  fineness  or  coarseness  de 
sired.  The  larger  the  quantity  of  material  inside  the  thicker  and  heavier 
the  coil  is.  The  sewing  passes  over  the  elements  of  the  coil  and  through 
the  upper  element  of  the  coil  below,  looping  always  under  the  sub 
jacent  stitches.  The  ornamentation  is  produced  by  working  into  the 
fabric  various  designs  with  strips  of  martynia  or  splints  dyed  to  a  dark 
brown  or  a  reddish  brown. 


io8 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


WEAVES  OR  STITCHES   OF  INDIAN   BASKETRY.  1 09 

The  most  noted  work  in  mush  bowls  of  the  Paiutis,  however,  is  not 
known  by  their  name.  These  bowls  are  eagerly  sought  after  and  are 
known  as  "Navaho  Wedding  Baskets"  and  "Apache  Medicine  Bask 
ets."  This  may  be  accepted  as  the  highest  type  of  Pauiti  weaving 
found  in  their  original  habitat,  for  by  contact  with  the  Yokuts.  the 
Pauitis  of  California  have  much  improved  in  artist  skill.  Fig  29  and 


FIG.    108.      KUCH-YE-AMP-SI.    THE    HOPI    WEAVER. 

the  two  baskets  of  the  middle  row  of  Fig.  27  represents  these  bowls. 
They  are  woven  as  above  described,  but  finished  on  the  border  in  a 
style  peculiar  to  the  Paiutis,  Navahoes  and  Havasupais.  No  other 
weavers  make  this  diagonal  border  whip  stitch  that  I  call  the  "herring 
bone"  finish.  It  is  both  a  beautiful  and  appropriate  stitch,  resembling 
somewhat  the  braiding  on  a  whip,  and  is  a  distinguished  mark  of  the 
weave  of  these  three  peoples. 


no 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


This  beautiful  effect  is  produced  by  a  single  splint.  The  splint  is 
passed  under  the  sewing  of  the  last  coil  and  then  drawn  over  it  and 
backward.  It  is  then  passed  under  again,  upward  and  forward,  just  in 
advance  of  the  starting  point.  Thus  by  sewing  backward  and  forward, 
as  one  coils  a  kite  string,  this  braided  effect  is  produced. 

Matthews  says  the  Navahoes  claim  this  finishing  stitch  as  peculiarly 
their  own.  "These  Indians  say  that  the  Apaches  and  other  neighboring 
tribes  finish  the  margins  of  their  baskets  with  simple  circular  turns 
of  the  investing  fibre  like  that  in  the  rest  of  the  basket.  The  Navaho 
basket,  they  believe,  may  always  be  known  by  the  peculiar  finish 
described,  and  they  say  that  if  among  other  tribes  a  woman  is  found 
who  makes  the  Navaho  finish  she  is  of  Navaho  descent  or  has  learned 
her  art  of  a  Navaho.  They  account  for  this  by  a  legend  which  is  per 
haps  not  wholly  mythical.  In  the  ancient  days  a  Navaho  woman  was 
seated  under  a  juniper  tree  finishing  a  basket  in  the  style  of  the  other 
tribes,  as  was  then  the  Navaho  custom,  and  while  so  engaged  she  was 
intently  thinking  if  some  stronger  and  more  beautiful  margin  could  not 
be  devised.  As  she  thus  sat  in  thought  the  God  Qastceyelci  tore  from 
the  overhanging  juniper  tree  a  small  spray  and  cast  it  into  her  basket. 


FIG.  109      SHOWING  ONE  INCH  OF  *  IG.  Ill      ONE  SQUARE  INCH  OF 

THE  WEAVE  OF  HOPI  SACRED  FIG.    110. 

TRAYS. 

It  immediately  occurred  to  her  to  imitate  in  her  work  the  peculiar  fold 
of  the  juniper  leaves  and  she  soon  devised  a  way  of  doing  so.  If  this 
margin  is  worn  through  or  torn  in  any  way  the  basket  is  unfit  for  sacred 
use.  The  basket  is  given  to  the  shaman  when  the  rites  are  done.  He 
must  not  keep  it,  but  must  give  it  away,  and  he  must  be  careful  never 
to  eat  out  of  it.  Notwithstanding  its  sacred  use,  it  is  no  desecration  to 
serve  food  in  it." 

The  colors  are  invariably  white,  black  and  reddish  brown,  and  the 
design  is  interesting.  Nearly  twenty  years  ago  the  favorite  wife  of  the 
last  great  chief  of  the  Paiutis,  Winnemucca,  gave  me  one  of  these 
basket  bowls,  and  told  me  the  meaning  of  the  design.  The  Paiuti 
believes  in  a  lower,  or  underworld  that  corresponds  in  its  hills  and  val 
leys  to  this  upper  world.  These  are  represented  in  this  design.  It  was 
from  this  underworld  that  all  the  Paiutis  came,  and  from  these  have 
sprung  all  the  races  of  the  earth.  The  means  of  communication  befween 
the  lower  and  upper  worlds  is  called  Shipapu,  and  is  likewise  repre 
sented  in  the  opening.  Now,  strange  to  say,  the  simple-hearted  Paiuti 


WEAVES  OR  STITCHES   OF  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


Ill 


woman  sincerely  believes  that  if  she  closes  this  representation  of 
shipapu  she  will  render  it  impossible  for  any  more  Paiutis  to  be  born 
into  this  upper  world.  This  is  the  primal  significance  of  the  design, 
and  the  only  one  known  to  its  maker.  The  hole  is  not  made  by  her,  as 
so  many  affirm,  that  the  evil  spirits  (achindi)  may  be  allowed  to  escape, 
but  it  is  to  her  the  representation  of  shipapu  which  she  would  not  dare 
knowingly  to  close  up. 


FIG.   110.     COILED  BASKET  AND  LID   FROM   UPPER     EGYPT,   NUBIA. 

There  may  be,  however,  some  color  for  the  idea  of  this  being  an 
"escape  hole"  for  evil  spirits  if  one  considers  the  remarks  of  the  Nava- 
hoes,  from  whom  most  of  these  baskets  are  obtained.  Believing  that 
there  are  evil  spirits  in  the  underworld,  and  knowing  the  Paiuti  idea 
represented  in  the  basket,  the  Navahoes  point  to  the  opening  and 
sententiously  remark  "Achindi !  Achindi !"  and  from  this  the  assump 
tion  referred  to  doubtless  has  grown. 

The  common  Paiuti  carrying  baskets  and  seed  roasting  trays  are 
coarsely  woven.  The  warp  twigs  are  made  to  open  out  and  the  new  ones 
are  added  as  the  basket  enlarges.  The  weft  splints  are  carried  around 
in  pairs  and  twined  around  two  of  these  warp  twigs  so  as  to  produce 
a  twilled  effect,  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  the  work  of  the  Haidas 
und  Claliams. 


112  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

Their  basket  water-bottles,  or  tus-jeh,  as  they  are  called  by  the 
Navahoes,  are  striking  specimens  of  adaptability  to  environment. 
Wandering  over  trackless  deserts,  often  miles  away  from  water,  a  carry 
ing  vessel  was  needed  for  the  precious  element  that  would  withstand 
more  than  ordinary  risks  of  breakage.  The  white  man's  canteen  of 
zinc  is  not  so  well  adapted  for  desert  uses  as  is  the  Paiuti  tusjeh  with 
two  horse-hair  lugs  woven  into  the  side.  A  thong  of  buckskin,  passed 
through  these  and  over  the  saddle  fastens  it  so  that  it  can  safely  be 
carried.  Should  it  fall  there  is  no  danger  of  it  being  broken.  Horses  may 
run  away,  fall,  kick  and  the  tusjeh  be  in  the  heart  of  the  difficulty  and 
it  will  withstand  all  strains  and  resist  all  pressures.  The  shape  is  almost 
uniform ;  rounded  at  the  bottom  so  that  it  can  easily  be  rested  in  the 
sand,  bellying  out  and  retreating  to  the  neck,  which  is  wider  at  the 
lip  than  at  the  point  of  junction  with  the  body.  It  is  coated  with  pinion 
gum.  The  weave  is  very  coarse  and  of  the  coiled  order,  with  a  neat 
wrap  stitch  on  the  rim. 


FIG.  112.     UNORNAMENTED   ORAIBI  FIG.    113.      ONE   INCH   OF   FIG.    112. 

PLAQUE  OR  SACRED  MEAL 
TRAY. 

The  Hopituh,  or  Moki,  are  the  makers  of  the  sacred  meal  trays  of 
striking  design  and  coloring  that  find  place  in  all  collections.  Of  these 
there  are  three  distinct  types  (see  Fig.  81),  the  yucca  or  amole,  made  at 
the  three  villages  of  the  middle  mesa,  Mashongnavi,  Shipauluvi  and 
Shimopavi,  the  willow,  made  at  Oraibi  on  the  western  mesa,  and  the 
coarse  yucca  corn  and  peach  baskets  made  at  all  the  seven  villages  (see 
Figs.  107  and  85). 

In  Fig.  108  is  represented  Kuchyeampsi,  the  finest  weaver  of  the 
former  type  among  the  Hopi,  though  she  is  here  shown  making  baskets 
rather  than  plaques  or  trays.  The  weaving,  however,  is  of  exactly  the 
same  character.  The  material  of  the  inner  coil  is  a  native  grass,  called 
wu-u-shi,  something  like  our  broom-corn.  The  coil  is  wrapped  with 
splints  stripped  from  the  leaves  of  the  amole,  or  soap-plant,  one  of  the 
yucca  family.  (See  Fig.  109).  These  splints  are  generally  about  a 
sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  width,  though  for  finer  work  they  are  made 


WEAVES   OR  STITCHES   OF  INDIAN   BASKETRY.  1 13 

smaller.  The  wrapped  coil  varies  from  a  quarter  of  an  inch  to  an  inch 
in  diameter.  As  the  coil  progresses,  each  stitch  or  wrap  is  caught 
into  a  stitch  of  the  coil  beneath  with  such  uniform  exactness,  that  it  has 
the  appearance  of  a  worm  closely  coiled  up.  The  native  colors  of  the 
designs  were  black,  brown,  yellow,  red  and  the  natural  white  of  the 
yucca,  but  of  late  years  the  aniline  dyes  have  been  used  with  the 
Indian's  fondness  for  glaring  and  incongrous  results.  The  designs  are 


FIG.    114.     ORAIBI    SACRED    MEAL    TRAY.      SPIDER     WEB  PATTERN. 

multiform,  every  conceivable  pattern  being  worked  out  as  if  from  the 
suggestions  of  a  kaleidescope. 

These  trays  are  used  by  the  Hopi  in  their  vaiious  ceremonials  for 
the  carrying  of  the  "hoddentin"  or  sacred  meal.  Sprinkling  of  this  meal 
constitutes  an  important  part  of  all  Hopi  ritual  for  the  propitiation  of 
the  evil  powers  of  nature,  for,  as  I  have  elsewhere  shown  the  Hopi  is 
the  greatest  ritualist  of  the  world. 

The  singular  and  interesting  symbolism  of  these  trays  I  have  else 
where  described. 

For  comparison  with  this  style  of  Hopi  basketry  I  have  introduced 
Fig.  no  which  represents  a  coiled  basket  of  upper  Egypt,  made  of 


114 


INDIAN  BASKETRY 


bundles  of  palm-leaf  veins,  sewed  with  strips  of  palm  leaf.  The  orna 
mentation  is  in  red  and  black.  A  long  red  or  black  strip  of  leaf  is  laid 
on  the  outside  of  a  coil  and  caught  down  by  alternate  stitches.  The 
varying  of  the  number  of  the  stitches  caught  over  or  covered  by  these 
strips  produces  a  multitude  of  effects.  These  baskets  are  frequently 
pitched  for  boats  or  "Moses'  arks." 

Fig.  in  represents  one  square  inch  of  Fig.  no  showing  the  sewing 
and  stripes  of  ornamentation. 

It  will  also  be  noticed  in  the  finishing  off  of  the  coil  in  the  lower 
portion  of  the  lid  that  the  "open  gate"  of  the  Hopis  is  presented. 
Whether  the  Egyptians  had  the  same  symbolism  in  regard  to  this 
finishing  off  of  the  baskets,  is  an  interesting  subject  of  inquiry. 

Fig.  112  is  a  plain  unornamented  willow-woven  basket  of  the  Oraibis. 
This  latter,  as  far  as  I  know,  is  the  only  example  of  aboriginal  weaving 
similar  to  the  ordinary  willow  ware  basketry  of  civilization.  It  is  made 
in  exactly  the  same  style,  the  warp  twigs  radiating  from  the  center,  and 


FIG.  115.     COARSE  WILLOW 
HOPI    CARRYING   BASKET. 


FIG.  116.     ZUNI  CARRYING 
BASKET. 


the  woof  twigs  passing  in  and  out  in  the  simple  weave.  The  designs 
found  on  these  trays  are  often  very  striking.  Though  necessarily 
controlled  by  the  weave  stitch,  the  imaginative  and  poetic  Hopi  woman 
introduces  the  object  she  sees,  the  things  she  dreams  of,  the  powers 
she  worships  and  the  elements  of  which  she  is  afraid,  by  means  of  differ 
ent  colored  twigs,  and  the  results  are  both  interesting  and  attractive. 

Fig.  113  is  one  square  inch,  natural  size,  of  Fig.  112,  and  shows  the 
regular  disposition  of  the  weaving. 

Fig.  114  is  a  similarly  constructed  Oraibi  basket,  but  here  a  pattern 
is  clearly  made  by  the  use  of  colored  twigs.  The  ornamentation  is  the 
"spider-web"  pattern  elsewhere  described. 

The  Hopis  of  all  the  villages  weave  a  very  coarse  basket  of  which 
Fig.  115  is  a  type.  Coarse  willow  twigs  are  woven  around  a  warp, 


WEAVES  OR  STITCHES  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  1 15 

the  four  corners  of  which  are  composed  of  two  strong  sticks  bent  at 
the  bottom  as  shown  in  Fig.  115.  Between  these,  other  upright  twigs 
are  placed,  and  the  woof  introduced  according  to  the  whim,  or,  more 
probably,  lazy  carelessness  of  the  weaver.  Sometimes  the  stitches  are 
single,  then  double  and  even  triple,  and  again,  on  a  higher  row  of  weave, 
just  the  reverse.  The  result  is  an  irregular,  uneven  and  slovenly-look 
ing  production,  that  has  no  other  justification  for  its  existence  than  its 
usefulness  as  a  fruit  or  corn  carrying  basket. 

Most  of  the  Zuni  basketry  is  of  a  coarse,  rude  character,  with 
neither  form  nor  ornament  to  make  it  attractive.  Small  round  willows, 
and  the  stem  of  the  yucca,  which  attains  a  long  slender  growth  in  this 
region,  are  used  for  this  purpose,  and  most  of  the  women  can  make 
baskets  of  this  character.  But  I  do  not  know  a  single  weaver  of  the 
finer  baskets  in  any  of  the  villages  of  Zuni  to-day. 

Fig.  116  is  a  good  example  of  the  coarser  kind  of  Zuni  handicraft 
and  is  used  for  carrying  peaches  and  such-like  fruits,  etc.,  and  Fig  117 
is  a  similar  basket  used  for  the  same  purpose,  but  of  somewhat  differ 
ent  shape. 


FIG.  118.    EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY 

FIG.  117.    ZUNI  CARRYING  BASKET  VARYING  THE  ORDER  OF  IN 

TERSECTION.     SEMINOLE 
WORK. 

The  Washoes  of  Nevada  make  a  basket  similar  in  weave  to  the 
Paiutis,  and  which  can  be  differentiated  only  in  that  the  colors  used  are 
varied,  the  designs  or  symbols  more  diverse  and  generally  the  weave 
more  varied,  the  designs  or  symbols  more  diverse  and  generally  the 
weave  is  much  finer.  The  ''queen"  of  the  Washoe  weavers  is  Dat-so-la- 
lee,  a  full-blooded  Indian,  sixty  years  of  age,  whose  work  is  wonderful 
in  its  shape,  symbolization  and  weave.  Fig.  56  shows  her,  surrounded  by 
her  work.  Though  heavy  and  plump,  her  delicacy  of  touch,  artistic  skill 
and  poetical  conception  excite  admiration.  He/  hand  is  symmetrically 
perfect,  her  fingers  plump  and  tapering  and  her  nails  beautiful  "filberts." 
She  is  fully  conscious  of  the  sensations  and  emotions  her  work  arouses 
in  the  hearts  of  connoisseurs.  During  the  past  three  years  she  has 
produced  sixteen  baskets  with  sixteen  stitches  to  the  inch,  three  baskets 
with  twenty  stitches  to  the  inch ;  and  four  baskets  with  thirty  stitches 
to  the  inch.  Her  white  splints  are  made  solely  of  willow.  A  willow 
shoot  is  split  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  splints,  with  the  teeth  and 
finger  nails.  The  finer  the  stitch  desired  the  greater  the  number  of 


n6 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


splints  from  the  shoot.  Only  those  portions  of  the  fibre  immediately 
over  the  pith  and  under  the  bark  are  used.  They  are  ail  then  made 
of  uniform  size  by  scraping  with  a  piece  of  glass.  The  warp,  or  inside 
of  the  coil,  is  generally  composed  of  two  thin  willows  stripped  of  the 
bark.  For  colors  the  red  bark  of  the  mountain  birch,  and  the  dark 
root  of  a  large  fern  that  grows  in  the  foothills  of  the  Sierra  are  used. 

So  exquisite  is  Dat-so-la-le's  work  that  her  baskets  have  brought 
fabulous  prices  ranging  from  $150  to  $250.  Three  of  her  recent 
creations  are  valued  even  much  higher.  Fig.  119  is  one  ot  her  master 
pieces. 


119.    HIGHLY    DECORATED,     BEAUTIFULLY    WOVEN 
WASHOB   BASKET. 

There  is  little  that  one  can  write  about  to  differentiate  the  finer 
basketry  of  the  White  Mountain  and  San  Carlos  Apaches  from  that  other 
branch  of  the  great  Apache  family  known  as  the  Havasupais,  and  yet 
the  expert  can  tell  the  difference  in  a  moment.  The  finishing  off  border 
stitch  of  the  Havasupais  is  the  herring  bone  stitch  before  described  as 
belonging  to  the  basketry  of  the  Paiutis,  while  that  of  the  Southern 
Apaches  is  an  ordinary  wrapped  stitch,  a  simple  coiling  around  of  the 
splint. 

In  the  coarser  work  of  the  Havasupais  two  other  distinct  weaves 
are  used,  as  will  be  seen  later  in  illustration  of  their  kathaks,  or  carry 
ing-baskets,  and  their  esuwas  or  pinion-gum-covered  water  ollas. 

The  Pimas  and  Maricopas  make  baskets  similar  to  those  of  the 
Paiuti,  Havasupai  and  Apache,  and  yet  generally  distinguishable.  The 
work  is  coarser  than  that  of  the  Havasupai  or  Apache,  and  the  border 
stitch  is  generally  of  a  backward  and  forward  kind  of  weave  peculiar  to 
these  people.  Their  designs  are  striking  and  varied,  the  Greek  fret  and 
circular  forms  of  the  Swastika  being  largely  represented.  Many  illus 
trations  of  Pima  work  are  found  in  these  pages. 


WEAVES  OR  STITCHES  OP  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


117 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


In  later  chapters,  where  individual  specimens  of  many  and  varied 
baskets  are  shown,  the  weaves  are  explained  and  illustrated  and  to 
those  chapters  the  student  is  referred  for  further  information  upon  this 
interesting  branch  of  the  subject. 

In  a  letter  to  the  author  Professor  O.  T.   Mason  suggests  rhat: 


FIG.    122.     SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA    BASKET,    USED   AS  A  DRUM. 

"For  my  part,  I  believe  that  every  type  of  basketry  on  the  West  Coast 
represents  either  a  tribe  or  a  linguistic  family.  That  the  various  types 
get  about  from  one  tribe  to  another  by  intermarriage  and  by  barter  I 
do  not  doubt,  but  one  tribe  does  not  learn  the  art  or  finesse  from  the 
other." 


FIG-  !22a.— TOP   OF  A  BOTTLE-NECK  BASKET   IN  THE   McLEOD   COLLECTION. 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS. 


119 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS;  THEIR  ORIGIN  AND 
RELATION  TO  ART. 


'  UCH  a  large  variety  of  basket  forms  is 
now  found  to  exist  that  one  is  led 
by  natural  curiosity  to  inquire  as  to 
their  origin.  In  preceding  and  suc 
ceeding  chapters  various  forms  are  presented,  and  some  of  them  dis 
cussed  in  connection  with  their  origin.  The  great  importance  of  this 
branch  of  the  subject,  however,  demands  that,  even  at  the  risk  of  repe 
tition,  a  full  chapter  be  devoted  to  a  discussion  as  to  the  origin,  uses, 
and  relation  to  art  of  the  various  forms  and  decorations  found  there 
upon,  of  the  basketry  of  the  regions  under  consideration.  In  the  main 
the  ideas  and  illustrations  of  this  chapter  are  taken  bodily  from  Pro 
fessor  William  H.  Holmes'  admirable  monograph  entitled  ''Textile 
Art  in  its  Relation  to  the  Development  of  Form  and  Ornament." 

While  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards  undoubtedly  checked  the  fret  and 
spontaneous  growth  of  American  aboriginal  art,  there  is  still  enough 
remains  among  the  basket-making  peoples  to  enable  us  distinctly  to 
trace  their  mental  methods  and  reach  reasonably  accurate  conclusions 
as  to  the  processes  of  their  art  development.  The  processes  of  manu 
facture  and  ornamentation  of  basketry  are  doubtless  little,  if  any, 
changed,  since  precolumbian  times,  so  that  in  studying  its  historic  and 
every  day  manifestations,  we  are  having  the  mystic  veil  drawn  aside,  in 
some  measure,  and  taking  glimpses  of  the  native  life  of  these  people 


I2O 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


before  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards  became  a  disturbing  element. 

Indian  basketry,  though  in  a  more  circumscribed  area  than  Indian 
pottery,  presents  two  classes  of  phenomena  of  importance  in  the  study 
of  evolution  of  aesthetic  culture.  These  relate,  first,  to  form,  and 
second,  to  ornament. 

In  form  there  are:  i.  Useful  shapes,  which  may  or  may  not  be 
ornamental.  2.  Aesthetic  shapes,  which  are  ornamental  and  may  be 
useful. 

It  is  impossible  to  fix  time  boundaries  and  say  when  a  certain  form 
came  into  existence,  or  where  and  how  it  had  its  origin.  Yet  it  is  gen 
erally  accepted  that,  the  simpler  the  form  the  earlier  its  use  and  the 
more  primitive  the  people  who  introduced  it,  while  the  more  complex 


FIG.     124. 


BLO    INDIAN     SLEEPING    MAT.        Fig.  125.     Havasupai  Water  Bottle. 


and  specialized  forms  are  the  product  of  the  older  peoples,  more  ad 
vanced  in  civilization. 

That  basketry  antedates  pottery  has  already  been  shown.  The 
subject  is  ably  presented  by  Lieut.  Gushing  in  his  "Pueblo  Pottery  and 
Zuni  Culture  Growth.'"  Canes  first  and  then  gourds  were  used  to  carry 
water.  Owing  to  the  frangibility  of  the  gourd,  however,  it  was  difficult 
of  transportation,  and,  therefore,  liable  to  be  productive  of  great  dis 
tress  to  those  who  relied  upon  it  for  carrying  their  water  supply  across 
the  desert.  To  overcome  this  the  gourd  was  encased  in  a  rude  net  of 
fibrous  yucca  leaves  or  flexible  willow  or  other  splints.  I  have  seen 
many  such  ancient  water  vessels  used  in  Hopi,  Navaho,  Zuni  and  other 
ceremonials. 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS.  121 

This  was  a  crude  beginning.  The  water-tight  wicker-basket  fal 
lowed,  which  as  Gushing  shows,  demonstrates  by  its  nomenclature  its 
origin  from  the  gourd. 

The  strength,  durability  and  consequent  reliability  in  the  carrying 
of  water  for  long  distances  would  soon  make  baskets  common,  even 
though  difficult  and  tedious  of  manufacture.  Pinion  gum,  mineral 
asphaltum,  pitch  or  other  glutinous  substances,  being  at  hand,  were 
readily  suggested  for  the  repairing  of  any  leakage. 

As  before  shown  baskets  were  used  long  before  the  advent  of  pot 
tery  for  cooking  purposes,  and  by  the  primitive  Havasupais  are  still 
so  used. 

In  studying  basketry  from  its  art  side,  the  subject  first  presented 
naturally  is  that  of  form.  As  a  piece  of  basketry,  whether  crude  or 
artistic  is  considered,  the  question  immediately  arises,  from  whence  did 
the  maker  obtain  her  idea  of  this  form  ?  Undoubtedly  to  the  imitative 


FIG.    126.      YAKIMA    BASKET,    WITH    ESTHETIC 
CHARACTERISTICS    OF    FORM. 

faculty  all  primitive  forms  owe  their  origin,  and  at  the  same  time  it  is 
equally  certain  that  the  form  must  correspond  to  the  function  the 
basket  is  required  to  perform.  The  aesthetic  features  of  form  are  a 
later  development,  brought  about  by  general  aesthetic  growth  and 
applied  to  this  special  industry. 

Holmes  well  says :  "In  America  there  is  a  vast  body  of  primitive, 
indigenous  art  having  no  parallel  in  the  world.  Uncontaminated  Dy 
contact  with  the  complex  conditions  of  civilized  art,  it  offers  the  best 
possible  facilities  for  the  study  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  aesthetic 
development." 

Rigid  objects  in  textile  art  (rigid,  as  opposed  to  pliable,  compare 
water  bottles  and  water-tight  bowl  baskets  with  nets,  woven  garments, 
etc.),  depend  largely  for  their  form  upon  their  adaptability  to  the  usage 
required  of  them.  This  usage  Holmes  terms  "function,"  and  he  states 
that,  "while  their  shape  still  accords  with  their  functional  office,  they  ex 
hibit  attributes  of  form  generally  recognized  as  pleasing  to  the  mind, 
which  are  expressed  by  the  terms  grace,  elegance,  symmetry,  and  the 


122 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


like.  Such  attributes  are  not  separable  from  functional  attributes,  but 
originate  and  exist  conjointly  with  them." 

Basketry  being  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  textile  industries  manifests, 
as  largely  as  all  primary  industries  must,  the  imitative  faculty  in  a  high 
degree.  Hence  in  natural  objects  are  to  be  sought  the  form  inspirations 
for  primitive  basketry. 

"Woven  mats,  such  as  Fig.  124,  in  early  use  by  many  tribes  of  men 
and  originating  in  the  attempt  to  combine  leaves,  vines  and  branches 
for  purposes  of  comfort,  are  flat  because  of  function,  the  degree  of  flat 
ness  depending  upon  the  size  of  filaments  and  mode  of  combination; 
and  in  outline  they  are  irregular,  square,  round  or  oval,  as  a  result 
of  many  causes  and  influences,  embracing  use,  construction,  material, 
models,  etc." 

In  point  of  contour  the  plain  food  basket-bowls  so  common  through 
out  the  South-west,  such  as  are  shown  in  Figs.  12,  13,  and  many  other 
pages,  have  somewhat  more  decided  claims  upon  aesthetic  attention 
than  the  preceding,  as  the  curves  exhibited  mark  a  step  of  progress  in 


FIGS.  127,  128,  129.     SIMPLE  WEAVES  IN  ONE  COLOR. 


complexity  and  grace.  How  much  of  this  is  due  to  intention  and  how 
much  to  technical  perfection  must  remain  in  doubt.  In  work  so  perfect 
we  are  wont,  however  unwarrantably,  to  recognize  the  influence  of 
taste. 

"A  third  example,  presented  in  Fig.  125,  illustrates  an  advanced 
stage  in  the  art  of  basketry  and  exhibits  a  highly  specialized  shape. 
The  forces  and  influences  concerned  in  its  evolution  may  be  analyzed 
as  follows  :  A  primal  origin  in  function  and  a  final  adaptation  to  a 
special  function,  the  carrying  and  storing  of  water  ;  a  contour  full  to  give 
result  to  a  certain  undetermined  extent  of  the  aesthetic  tendencies  of  the 
capacity,  narrow  above  for  safety,  and  pointed  below  that  it  may  be  set 
in  sand  ;  curves  kept  within  certain  bounds  by  the  limitations  of  con 
struction  ;  and  a  goodly  share  of  variety,  symmetry  and  grace,  the 
result  to  a  certain  undetermined  extent  of  the  esthetic  tendencies  of  the 
artist's  mind.  In  regard  to  the  last  point  there  is  generally  in  forms 
so  simple  an  element  of  uncertainty  ;  but  many  examples  may  be  found 
in  which  there  is  positive  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  strong  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  primitive  basket-maker  to  enhance  beauty  of  form. 
It  will  be  observed  that  the  textile  materials  and  construction  do  not 
lend  themselves  freely  to  minuteness  in  detail  or  to  complexity  of  out 
line,  especially  in  those  small  ways  in  which  beauty  is  most  readily 
expressed 

"Modifications  of  a  decidedly  aesthetic  character  are  generally  sug 
gested  to  the  primitive  mind  by  some  functional,  constructive  or  acci- 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS. 


123 


dental  feature  which  may  with  ease  be  turned  in  the  new  direction. 
In  the  vessel  presented  in  Fig.  126,  the  work  of  Alaskan  Indians,  the 
margin  is  varied  by  altering  the  relations  of  the  three  marginal  turns  of 
the  coil,  producing  a  scalloped  effect.  This  is"  without  reference  to  use, 
is  uncalled  for  in  construction,  and  hence  is,  in  all  probability,  the  direct 
result  of  aesthetic  tendencies." 

"In  the  pursuit  of  this  class  of  enrichment  there  is  occasionally 
noticeable  a  tendency  to  overload  the  subject  with  extraneous  details. 
This  is  not  apt  to  occur,  however,  in  the  indigenous  practice  of  an  art, 
but  comes  more  frequently  from  a  loss  of  equilibrium  or  balance  in 
motives  or  desires,  caused  by  untoward  exotic  influence. 

"When,  through  suggestions  derived  from  contact  with  civilized 
art,  the  savage  undertakes  to  secure  all  the  grace  and  complexity 
observed  in  the  works  of  more  cultured  peoples,  he  does  so  at  the 
expense  of  construction  and  adaptability  to  use.  An  example  of  such 
work  is  presented  in  Fig.  91,  a  weak,  useless,  and  wholly  vicious 
piece  of  basketry.  Other  equally  meretricious  pieces  represent  goblets, 


FIG.    130.      DIAGONAL 

COMBINATION, 

GIVING    HERRING 

BONE    EFFECT. 


FIG.     131.      ELABORATION  FIG.   133. 

OF     DIAGONAL  SIMPLE  TWINED  WEAVE. 

COMBINATION,     GIVING 
TRIANGULAR    FIGURES. 


bottles  and  teapots.  They  are  the  work  of  the  Indians  of  the  northwest 
coast  and  are  executed  in  the  neatest  possible  manner,  bearing  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  cultivated  taste. 

"If,  in  the  making  of  a  vessel,  the  demands  of  use  are  fully  satisfied, 
if  construction  is  perfect  of  its  kind,  if  materials  are  uniformly  suitable, 
and  if  models  are  not  absolutely  bad,  it  follows  that  the  result  must 
necessarily  possess  in  a  high  degree  those  very  attributes  that  all 
agree  are  pleasing  to  the  eye. 

"Form  has  its  relation  to  ornament  in  that  the  contour  of  the  vessel 
controls  its  ornament  to  a  large  extent,  dictating  the  positions  of  design 
and  setting  its  limits ;  figures  are  in  stripes,  zones,  rays,  circles,  ovals 
or  rectangles — according,  in  no  slight  measure,  to  the  character  of  the 
spaces  afforded  by  details  of  contour." 

Having  dealt  clearly  with  the  main  subject  of  form  as  related  to  art, 
Professor  Holmes  thus  expatiates  upon  color  and  design  modifying 
form  and  their  joint  and  combined  relations  to  the  development  of  art. 

"Color  is  one  of  the  most  constant  factors  in  man's  environment,  and 


I24 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


it  is  so  strongly  and  persistently  forced  upon  his  attention,  so  useful  as 
a  means  of  identification  and  distinction,  that  it  necessarily  receives 
a  large  share  of  consideration.  It  is  probably  one  of  the  foremost 
objective  agencies  in  the  formation  and  development  of  the  aesthetic 
sense. 

"Color  employed  in  the  art  is  not  related  to  use,  excepting,  perhaps, 
in  symbolic  and  superstitious  matters ;  nor  is  it  of  consequence  in 
construction,  although  it  derives  importance  from  the  manner  in  which 
construction  causes  it  to  be  manifested  to  the  eye.  It  finds  its  chief 
use  in  the  field  of  design,  in  making  evident  to  the  eye  the  figures  with 
which  objects  of  art  are  embellished." 

In  enhancing  beauty  there  are  phenomena  present  in  the  art  with 
out  man's  volition  that  tend  to  suggest  decorative  conceptions  and  give 
shape  to  them.  "The  latter  class  of  features  arise  as  a  necessity  of  the 
art,  they  gradually  come  into  notice  and  are  seized  upon  by  the  aesthetic 
faculty,  and  under  its  guidance  they  assist  in  the  development  'of  a 
system  of  ornament  of  world-wide  application." 

Figures  or  patterns  of  a  relievo  nature  arise  during  construction 


PIG.    132.      PERUVIAN    WORK    BASKET    OF    REEDS, 
WITH  STRONGLY  RELIEVED  RIDGES. 

as  a  result  of  the  intersections  and  other  more  complex  relations,  the 
bindings,  of  the  warp  and  woof  or  of  inserted  or  applied  elements. 
And  when  color  was  applied  to  either  warp  or  woof  new  conceptions 
of  design  would  arise  entirely  independent  of  the  will  cf  the  artisan. 
The  very  nature  of  the  art  is  such  that  once  let  there  be  introduced 
accidentally  or  otherwise,  a  new  form  or  twist  of  weave  or  stitch,  and 
a  splint  differing  in  color  from  the  other  splints,  new  characteristics 
of  appearance  in  weave  and  color  would  be  presented  regardless  of 
the  desire  of  the  artist,  or  the  effect  produced  upon  the  eye. 

It  was  the  conscious  perception  of  these  adventitious  effects,  the 
pleasure  Aey  gave,  and  the  desire  and  determination  to  repeat  them  that 
gave  the  first  great  impulse  towards  the  rapid  development  of  the 
aesthetic  nature. 

"But  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  for  a  moment  that  the  inception  of 
aesthetic  notions  dates  from  this  association  of  ideas  of  beauty  with 
textile  characters.  Long  before  textile  objects  of  a  high  class  were 
made,  ideas  of  an  aesthetic  nature  had  been  entertained  by  the  mind, 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS. 


125 


as,  for  example,  in  connection  with  personal  adornment.  The  skin  had 
been  painted,  pendants  placed  about  the  neck,  and  bright  feathers  set  in 
the  hair  to  enhance  attractiveness,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  conceive 
of  the  transfer  of  such  ideas  from  purely  personal  associations  to  the 
embellishment  of  articles  intimately  associated  with  the  person.  No 
matter,  however,  what  the  period  or  manner  of  the  association  of  such 
ideas  with  the  textile  are,  that  association  may  be  taken  as  the  datum 
point  in  the  development  of  a  great  system  of  decoration  whose  dis 
tinguishing  characters  are  the  result  of  the  geometric  textile  construc 
tion." 

Primitive  work  was  plain  in  weave,  simple  and  unembellished,  and 
consequently,  wholly  geometric  and  extremely  monotonous. 

As  intelligence  and  skill  grew,  simple  weaves  were  modified  or 
combined  with  others,  without  interfering  with  perfection  of  structure 
or  functional  uses,  and  thus  a  new  field  opened  in  the  development 
of  decorative  tendencies. 


FIG.  134.     SURFACE   EFFECT  OF  TWINED   LATTICE 

COMBINATION   IN   BASKET   OF   CLALLAM 

INDIANS  OF  WASHINGTON. 

With  the  introduction  of  color  and  its  addition  to  either  simple  or 
complex  weaves  an  added  impetus  to  this  development  was  given. 
Hence  we  may  broadly  classify  the  ornamentation  of  basketry  into  the 
following  divisions : 

1.  Ornamentation  by  simple  weave  in  one  color. 

2.  Ornamentation  by  a  combination  of  simple  weaves  in  one  color. 

3.  Ornamentation  by  simple  weave  in  a  combination  of  colors. 

4.  Ornamentation  by  combination  of  weaves  in  a  single  color  or  a 
combination  of  colors. 

5.  Ornamentation  by  extraneous  addition. 

"In  right  angled  weaving  the  figures  combine  in  straight  lines, 
which  run  parallel  or  cross  at  uniform  distances  and  angles.  In  radiate 
weaving,  as  in  basketry,  the  radial  lines  are  crossed  in  an  equally  formal 


126 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


manner  byVconcentrid  lines.  In  other  classes  of  .combination  there  is 
an  almost  equal  degree  of  geometricity."* 

In  Figs.  127,  128  and  129  we  have  the  forms  of  simple  weave  in  one 
color  clearly  shown,  and  Figs.  112  and  21  are  types  ot  baskets  that 
accord  with  this  classification. 

By  changes  in  the  order  of  intersection,  without  changing  the  type 
of  combination,  we  reach  a  series  of  results  quite  unlike  the  preceding; 
so  distinct,  indeed,  that,  abstracted  from  constructive  relationships, 
there  would  be  little  suggestion  of  correlation.  In  the  example  given 
in  Fig.  130  the  series  of  filaments  interlace,  not  by  passing  over  and 
under  alternate  strands,  as  in  the  preceding  set  of  examples,  but  by 
extending  over  and  under  a  number  of  the  opposing  series  at  each  step 
and  in  such  order  as  to  give  wide  horizontal  ridges  ribbed  diagonally. 

This  example  is  from  an  ancient  work  basket  obtained  at  Ancon, 
Peru,  and  shown  in  Fig.  132.  The  surface  features  are  in  strong  relief, 
giving  a  pronounced  herring  bone  effect. 

Slight  changes  in  the  succession  of  parts  enable  the  workmen  to 
produce  a  great  variety  of  decorative  patterns,  an  example  of  which 


M 


FIG.  135.  FIG.    136.  .  FIG.    137. 

Surface    effect    in    impacted          Surface    effect    obtained    by          Surface    effect    obtained    by 
work     of     twined     combination,   placing  the  warp  strands  close   crossing     the     warp     series     in 

tog-ether    and    the    woof    cables    open    twined    work, 
far    apart. 


is  shown  in  Fig.  131.  The  Hopi  mat  shown  in  Fig.  124  is  also  a  good 
illustration,  and  another  piece,  said  to  be  of  Seminole  workmanship, 
is  given  in  Fig.  118.  These  and  similar  relieved  results  are  fruitful 
sources  of  primitive  decorative  motives.  They  are  employed  not  only 
within  the  art  itself,  but  in  many  other  arts  less  liberally  supplied  with 
suggestions  of  embellishment. 

Taking  a  second  type  of  combination,  we  have  a  family  of  resultant 
patterns  in  the  main  distinguishable  from  the  preceding. 

Fig.  133  illustrates  the  simplest  form  of  what  Dr.  O.  T.  Mason  has 
called  the  twined  combination,  a  favorite  one  with  many  of  our  native 
tribes.  The  strands  of  the  woof  series  are  arranged  in  twos  and  in 
weaving  are  twisted  half  around  at  each  intersection,  inclosing  the 
opposing  fillets.  The  resulting  open  work  has  much  the  appearance 
of  ordinary  netting,  and  when  of  pliable  materials  and  distended  or 
strained  over  an  earthen  or  gourd  vessel  the  pattern  exhibited  is  strik 
ingly  suggestive  of  decoration.  The  result  of  this  combination  upon  a 
lattice  foundation  of  rigid  materials  is  well  shown  in  the  large  basket 


*As  the   major  portion  of  this  chapter  is  compiled  from  Holmes's  mono 
graph,  it  will  be  completed  without  further  quotation  marks. 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS. 


127 


presented  in  Fig.  134.  Other  variants  of  this  type  are  given  in  the 
three  succeeding  figures. 

The  result  seen  in  Fig.  135  is  obtained  by  impacting  the  horizontal 
or  twined  series  of  threads.  The  surface  is  nearlv  identical  with  that 
of  the  closely  impacted  example  of  the  preceding  type  (Fig.  127).  The 
peculiarities  are  more  marked  when  colors  are  used.  When  the  doubled 
and  twisted  series  of  strands  are  placed  far  apart  and  the  opposing  series 
are  laid  side  by  side  a  pleasing  result  is  given,  as  shown  in  Fig.  136 
and  in  the  body  of  the  conical  basket  illustrated  in  Fig.  139. 

In  Fig.  137  we  have  a  peculiar  diagonally  crossed  arrangement  of 
the  untwisted  series  of  filaments,  giving  a  lattice  work  effect. 

Fig.  138  serves  to  show  how  readily  this  style  of  weaving  lends 
itself  to  the  production  of  decorative  modification,  especially  in  the 
direction  of  the  concentric  zonal  arrangement  so  universal  in  vessel- 
making  arts. 


FIG.    138.      DECORATIVE    EFFECTS 

PRODUCED  BY  VARIATIONS  IN  THE 

RADIATE    OR    WARP    SERIES    IN    AN 

OPEN  WORK  TRAY. 

KLAMATH  WORK. 


FIG.   139.     CONICAL  BASKET   OF   THE   KLAMATH 
INDIANS    OF    OREGON,    SHOWING    PECULIAR 
TWINED  EFFECT  AND  AN  OPEN  WORK  BORDER. 


The  examples  given  serve  to  indicate  the  unlimited  decorative 
resources  possessed  by  the  art  without  employing  any  but  legitimate 
constructive  elements,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  still  wider  results  can 
be  obtained  by  combining  two  or  more  varieties  or  styles  of  binding 
in  the  construction  and  embellishment  of  a  single  object  or  in  the  same 
piece  of  fabric.  A  good,  though  very  simple,  illustration  of  this  is  shown 
in  the  tray  or  mat  presented  in  Fig.  124.  In  this  c^e  a  border,  varying 
from  the  center  portion  in  appearance,  is  obtained  by  changing  one 
series  of  the  filaments  from  a  multiple  to  a  single  arrangement. 

The  conical  basket  shown  in  Fig.  139  serves  to  illustrate  the  same 
point.  In  this  case  a  rudely  worked,  though  effective,  border  is 
secured  by  changing  the  angle  of  the  upright  series  near  the  top  and 
combining"  them  by  plaiting,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  a  border 
of  open  work. 


128 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIG.   140.     SIMPLE   RETICULATED   WEAVE 


FIG.    141. 
PLEASING  RESULTS    FROM    SIMPLE   VARIATIONS. 


FIG.   142.     FURTHER  VARIATION. 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS. 


I29 


It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  show  three  specimens  of  reti 
culated  weaving  bearing  somewhat  upon  this  subject.  Fig.  140  is  a 
piece  of  simple  reticulated  weaving  taken  from  an  impression  upon 
an  ancient  piece  of  pottery  obtained  in  Tennessee.  It  will  readily  be 
seen  that  Figs.  141  and  142  are  variations,  easily  made,  from  the 
simple  form,  yet  both  producing  new  and  pleasing  results. 

Appended  ornaments  are  not  amenable  to  the  geometric  laws  of 
fabrication  to  the  extent  observed  in  other  classes  of  ornament.  They 
are,  however,  attached  in  ways  consistent  with  the  textile  system,  and 
are  counted  and  spaced  with  great  care,  producing  designs  of  a  more 
or  less  pronounced  geometric  character.  The  work  is  a  kind  of 
embroidery,  the  parts  employed  being  of  the  nature  of  pendants. 

These  include  numberless  articles  derived  from  nature  and  art.  It 
will  suffice  to  present  a  few  examples  already  at  hand. 


FIG.  144.  CALIFORNIA  INDIAN 
BASKET  WITH  PENDANTS  OF 
BEADS  AND  BITS  OF  SHELL. 


FIG.   143.     APACHE  BASKET  WITH 

PENDANT   BUCKSKIN  STRANDS 

TIPPED  WITH  BITS  OF  TIN. 


Fig.  143  illustrates  a  large,  well  made  basket,  the  work  of  the 
Apache  Indians.  It  serves  to  indicate  the  method  of  employing  tassels 
and  clustered  pendants,  which  in  this  case  consist  of  buckskin  strings 
tipped  with  conical  bits  of  tin.  The  checker  pattern  is  in  color. 

Fig.  144  illustrates  the  use  of  other  varieties  of  pendants.  A  feather 
decked  basket  made  by  the  northwest  coast  Indians  is  embellished  with 
pendant  ornaments  consisting  of  strings  of  beads  tipped  with  bits  of 
bright  shell.  Many  others  of  these  may  be  seen  in  Figs.  50,  95,  98  to 
102,  103,  &c. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  color  in  a  general  way,  as  to  its  necessary 
presence  in  art.  My  object  now  is  to  indicate  the  part  it  takes  in  textile 
design,  its  methods  of  expression,  the  processes  by  which  it  advances 
in  elaboration,  and  the  part  it  takes  in  all  geometric  decoration. 

It  will  be  necessary,  in  the  first  place,  to  examine  briefly  the  normal 
tendencies  of  color  combination  while  still  under  the  direct  domination 
of  constructive  elaboration.  In  the  way  of  illustration,  let  us  take  first 
a  scries  of  filaments,  say  in  the  natural  color  of  the  material,  and  pass 


130  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

through  them  in  the  simplest  interlaced  style  a  second  series  having  a 
distinct  color.  A  very  simple  geometric  pattern  is  produced,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  145.  It  is  a  sort  of  checker,  an  emphasized  presentation  ot  the 
relievo  pattern  shown  in  Fig.  127,  the  figures  running  horizontally, 
vertically,  and  diagonally.  Had  these  filaments  been  accidentally  asso 
ciated  in  construction,  the  results  might  have  been  the  same,  but  it  is 
unnecessary  to  indicate  in  detail  the  possibilities  of  adventitious  color 
combinations.  So  far  as  they  exhibit  system  at  all  it  is  identical  with 
the  relievo  elaboration. 

Assuming  that  the  idea  of.  developing  these  figures  into  something 
more  elaborate  and  striking  is  already  conceived,  let  us  study  the 
processes  and  tendencies  of  growth.  A  very  slight  degree  of  ingen 
uity  will  enable  the  workman  to  vary  the  relation  of  the  parts,  pro 
ducing  a  succession  of  results  such,  perhaps,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  146. 
In  this  example  we  have  rows  of  isolated  squares  in  white  which  may 
be  turned  hither  and  thither  at  pleasure,  within  certain  angles,  but 
they  result  in  nothing  more  than  monotonous  successions  of  squares. 


FIG.  145. 

PATTERN    PRODUCED 
BY    INTERLACING 

STRANDS    OF 
DIFFERENT   COLORS. 


FIG.  146.  FIG.    147.      ISOLATED   FIGURES 

PATTERN    PRODUCED    PRODUCED    BY    MODIFYING 
BY    INTERLACING         ORDER    OF    INTERSECTION. 

STRANDS    OF 
DIFFERENT  COLORS. 


Additional  facility  of  expression  is  obtained  by  employing  dark 
strands  in  the  vertical  series  also,  and  large,  isolated  areas  of  solid  color 
may  be  produced  by  changing  the  order  of  intersection,  certain  of  the 
fillets  being  carried  over  two  or  more  of  the  opposing  series  and  in  con 
tiguous  spaces  at  one  step,  as  seen  in  Fig.  147.  With  these  elementary 
resources  the  weaver  has  very  considerable  powers  of  expression,  as 
will  be  seen  in  Fig.  148,  which  is  taken  from  a  basket  made  by  South 
American  Indians,  and  in  Fig.  149,  where  human  figures  are  delineated. 
The  patterns  in  such  cases  are  all  rigidly  geometric  and  exhibit  stepped 
outlines  of  a  pronounced  kind.  With  impacting  and  increased  refine 
ment  of  fillets  the  stepped  character  is  in  a  considerable  measure  lost 
sight  of  and  realistic,  graphic  representation  is  to  a  greater  extent 
within  the  workman's  reach.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  idea  of 
weaving  complex  ideographic  characters  would  not  occur  to  the  primi 
tive  mind  at  a  very  early  date,  and  a  long  period  of  progress  would 
elapse  before  delineative  subjects  would  be  attempted. 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS.  13 l 

For  the  purpose  of  looking  still  more  closely  into  the  tendencies  of 
normal  textile  decorative  developement  I  shall  present  a  series  of  Indian 
baskets,  choosing  mainly  from  the  closely  woven  or  impacted  varieties 
because  they  are  so  well  represented  in  our  collections  and  at  the  same 
time  are  very  generally  embellished  with  designs  in  color;  besides, 
they  are  probably  among  the  most  simple  and  primitive  textile  products 
known.  I  have  already  shown  that  several  types  of  combination  when 
closely  impacted  produce  very  similar  surface  characters  and  encourage 
the  same  general  style  of  decoration.  In  nearly  all,  the  color  features 
are  confined  to  one  series  of  fillets — those  of  the  woof — the  other  the 
warp,  being  completely  hidden  from  view.  In  the  preceding  series  the 


FIG.   148.     PATTERN  PRODUCED   BY  SIMPLE   ALTERNATIONS  OF 
LIGHT  AND  DARK  FILLETS. 


FIG.  149. 
CONVENTIONAL   HUMAN    FIGURES    FROM   AN   ANCIENT    PERUVIAN    BASKET. 


I32  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

warp  and  woof  were  almost  equally  concerned  in  the  expression  of 
design.  Here  but  one  is  used,  and  in  consequence  there  is  much  free 
dom  of  expression,  as  the  artist  carries  the  colored  filaments  back 
and  forth  or  inserts  new  ones  at  will.  Still  it  will  be  seen  that  in  doing 
this  he  is  by  no  means  free ;  he  must  follow  the  straight  and  narrow 
pathway  laid  down  by  the  warp  and  woof,  and,  do  what  he  may,  he 
arrives  at  purely  geometric  results. 

I  will  now  present  the  examples,  which  for  the  sake  of  uniformity 
are  in  all  cases  of  the  coiled  ware.  If  a  basket  is  made  with  no  other 
idea  than  that  of  use  the  surface  is  apt  to  be  pretty  uniform  in  color,  the 
natural  color  of  the  woof  fillets.  If  decoration  is  desired  a  colored 
fillet  is  introduced,  which,  for  the  time,  takes  the  place  and  does  the  duty 
of  the  ordinary  strand.  Fig.  150  serves  to  show  the  construction  and 
surface  appearance  of  the  base  of  a  coil  made  vessel  still  quite  free  from 
any  color  decoration.  Now,  if  it  is  desired  to  begin  a  design,  the  plain 
wrapping  thread  is  dropped  and  a  colored  fillet  is  inserted  and  the  coil 
ing  continues.  Carried  once  around  the  vessel  we  have  an  encircling 


FIG.*150.  BASE  OF  COILED  BASKET 
SHOWING  THE  METHOD  OF  BUILD 
ING  BY  DUAL  COILING.  The  base 
or  warp  coil  is  composed  of  untwisted 
fibre,  and  is  formed  by  adding  to  the 
free  end  as  the  coiling  goes  on.  The  FIG.  151.  COILED  BASKET  WITH 
woof,  or  binding  filament,  as  it  is  coiled  SIMPLE  GEOMETRIC  ORNAMENT, 
is  caught  into  the  upper  surface  of  the  WORK  OF  THE  NORTHWEST 
preceding  turn.  COAST  INDIANS. 

line  of  dark  color  corresponding  to  the  lower  line  of  the  ornament  seen 
in  Fig.  151.  If  the  artist  is  content  with  a  single  line  of  color  he  sets 
the  end  of  the  dark  thread  and  takes  up  the  light  colored  one  previously 
dropped  and  continues  the  coiling.  If  further  elaboration  is  desired  it 
is  easily  accomplished.  In  the  example  given  the  workman  has  taken 
up  the  dark  fillet  again  and  carried  it  a  few  times  around  the  next  turn 
of  the  warp  coil ;  then  it  has  been  dropped  and  the  white  thread  taken 
up,  and  again,  in  turn,  another  dark  thread  has  been  introduced  and 
coiled  for  a  few  turns,  and  so  on  until  four  encircling  rows  of  dark  alter 
nating  rectangles  have  been  produced.  Desiring  to  introduce  a  mean 
dered  design  he  has  taken  the  upper  series  of  rectangles  as  bases  and 
adding  colored  filaments  at  the  proper  time  has  carried  oblique 
lines  one  to  the  right  and  the  other  to  the  left,  across  the  six  succeeding 
ridges  of  the  warp  coil.  The  pairs  of  stepped  lines  meeting  above 
were  joined  in  rectangles  like  those  below,  and  the  decoration  was 
closed  by  a  border  line  at  the  top.  The  vessel  was  then  completed  in 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS. 


133 


the  light  colored  material.  In  this  ornament  all  forms  are  bounded  by 
two  classes  of  lines,  vertical  and  horizontal  (or,  viewed  from  below, 
radial  and  encircling),  the  lines  of  the  warp  and  the  woof.  Oblique 
bands  of  color  are  made  up  of  series  of  rectangles,  giving  stepped  out- 


FIG.  152.  YOKUT  COILED  BASKET  WITH 
ENCIRCLING  BANDS  OF  ORNAMENT  IN 
WHITE,  RED  AND  BLACK  UPON  A  YEL 
LOWISH  GROUND. 

lines.  Although  these  figures  are  purely  geometric,  it  is  not  imposs 
ible  that  in  their  position  and  grouping  they  preserve  a  trace  of  some 
imitative  conception  modified  to  this  shape  by  the  forces  of  the  art. 
They  serve  quite  as  well,  however,  to  illustrate  simple  mechanical  elab 
oration  as  if  entirely  free  from  suspicion  of  associated  ideas. 


FIG.  153.  PIMA  COILED  BASKET  WITH 
TWO  BANDS  OF  MEANDERED  ORNA 
MENT. 


In  Fig.  152  I  present  a  superb  piece  of  work  executed  by  the  Indians 
of  the  Tule  River,  California.  It  is  woven  in  the  closely  impacted, 
coiled  style.  The  ornament  is  arranged  in  horizontal  zones  and  consists 
of  a  series  of  diamond  shaped  figures  in  white  with  red  centers  and 


134  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

black  frames  set  side  by  side.  The  processes  of  substitution  where 
changes  of  color  are  required  are  the  same  as  in  the  preceding  case 
and  the  forms  of  figures  and  the  disposition  of  designs  are  the  same, 
being  governed  by  the  same  forces. 

Another  choice  piece,  from  the  Pima  Indians  of  Arizona,  is  given  in 
Fig.  153.  The  lines  of  the  ornament  adhere  exclusively  to  the  direc 
tions  imposed  by  the  warp  and  the  woof,  the  stripes  of  black  color 
ascending  with  the  turns  of  the  fillet  for  a  short  distance,  then  for  a  time 
following  the  horizontal  ridges,  and  again  ascending,  the  complete 
result  being  a  series  of  zigzag  rays  set  very  close  together.  These  rays 
take  an  oblique  turn  to  the  left,  and  the  dark  figures  at  the  angles,  from 
the  necessities  of  construction,  form  rows  at  right  angles  to  these.  A 
few  supplementary  rays  are  added  toward  the  margin  to  fill  out  the 
widening  spaces.  Another  striking  example  of  the  domination  of  tech 
nique  over  design  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  154. 


FIG.       154.     PIMA       COILED       BASKET  WITH    ORNAMENT    ARRANGED 
IN    ZIG-ZAG  RAYS. 

Two  strongly  marked,  fret-like  meanders  encircle  the  vessel,  the 
elements  of  which  are  ruled  exclusively  by  the  warp  and  woof,  by  the 
radiate  and  the  concentric  lines  of  construction.  This  is  the  work  of 
the  Pima  Indians  of  Arizona. 

I  shall  close  the  series  with  a  very  handsome  example  of  Indian  bas 
ketry  and  of  basketry  ornamentation  (Fig.  155).  The  conical  shape  is 
highly  pleasing  and  the  design  is  thoroughly  satisfactory  and,  like  all 
the  others,  is  applied  in  a  way  indicative  of  a  refined  sense  of  the  decora 
tive  requirements  of  the  utensil.  The  design  is  wholly  geometric,  and, 
although  varied  in  appearance,  is  composed  almost  exclusively  of  dark 
triangular  figures  upon  a  light  ground.  The  general  grouping  is  in 
three  horizontal  or  encircling  bands  agreeing  with  or  following  the 
foundation  coil.  Details  are  governed  by  the  horizontal  and  the  oblique 
structure  lines.  The  vertical  construction  lines  have  no  direct  part  in 
the  conformation  of  the  design  excepting  in  so  far  as  they  impose  a 
stepped  character  upon  all  oblique  outlines. 

Now,  as  primitive  peoples  advance  from  savagery  to  barbarism 
there  comes  a  time  in  the  history  of  all  kinds  of  textile  products  at  which 
the  natural  technical  progress  of  decorative  elaboration  is  interfered 
with  by  forces  from  without  the  art.  This  occurs  when  ideas,  symbolic 
or  otherwise,  come  to  be  associated  with  the  purely  geometric  figures, 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS.  J35 

tending  to  arrest  or  modify  their  development,  or  again,  it  occurs  when 
the  artist  seeks  to  substitute  mythologic  subjects  for  the  geometric 
units.  This  period  cannot  be  always  well  denned,  as  the  first  steps  in 
this  direction  are  so  thoroughly  subordinated  to  the  textile  forces. 
Between  what  may  be  regarded  as  purely  technical,  geometric  ornament 
and  ornaments  recognizably  delineative,  we  find  in  each  group  of  ad 
vanced  textile  products  a  series  of  forms  of  mixed  or  uncertain  pedigree. 
These  must  receive  slight  attention  here. 

Fig.  156  represents  a  large  and  handsome  basket  obtained  from  the 
Apache.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  outline  of  the  figures  comprising  the 
principal  zone  of  ornament  departs  somewhat  from  the  four  ruling 
directions  of  the  textile  combination.  This  was  accomplished  by  in 
creasing  the  width  of  the  steps  in  the  outlines  as  the  dark  rays  progres 
sed,  resulting  in  curved  outlines  of  eccentric  character.  This  eccentric 
ity,  coupled  with  the  very  unusual  character  of  the  details  at  the  outer 
extremities  of  the  figures,  leads  to  the  surmise  that  each  part  of  the 
design  is  a  conventional  representation  of  some  life  form,  a  bird,  an 
insect,  or  perhaps  a  man. 


PIG.   156. 

APACHE   COILED   BASKET   ORNAMENTED     WITH   DEVICES   PROBABLY 
VERY   HIGHLY   CONVENTIONALIZED   MYTHOLOGICAL   SUBJECTS. 

By  the  free  introduction  of  such  elements  textile  ornament  loses  its 
pristine  geometric  purity  and  becomes  in  a  measure  degraded.  In  the 
more  advanced  stages  of  Pueblo  art  the  ornament  of  nearly  all  the  tex 
tiles  is  pervaded  by  ideographic  characters,  generally  rude  suggestions 
of  life  forms,  borrowed,  perhaps,  from  mythologic  art.  This  is  true  of 
much  of  the  coiled  basketry  of  the  Hopi  Indians.  True,  many  ex 
amples  occur  in  which  the  ancient  or  indigenous  geometric  style  is 
preserved,  but  the  majority  appear  to  be  more  or  less  modified.  In 
many  cases  nothing  can  be  learned  from  a  study  of  the  designs  them 
selves,  as  the  particular  style  of  construction  is  not  adapted  to  realistic 
expression,  and,  at  best,  resemblances  to  natural  forms  are  very  remote. 
An  example  is  given  in  Fig.  35.  I  shall  expect,  however,  when  the  art 
of  these  peoples  is  better  known  to  learn  to  what  particular  mythic  con 
cept  these  mixed  or  impure  geometric  devices  refer. 

The  same  is  true  of  other  varieties  of  Hopi  basketry,  notably  the 
common  decorated  wickerware,  two  specimens  of  which  are  given  in 
Figs.  157  and  158.  This  ware  is  of  the  interlaced  style,  with  radially 
arranged  web  filaments.  Its  geometric  characters  are  easily  distin 
guished  from  those  of  the  coiled  ware.  Many  examples  exhibit  purely 


136 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIG.    155. 


McCLOUD   COILED  BASKET,   WITH   GEOMETRIC   ORNAMENT 
COMPOSED  OF  TRIANGULAK     FIGURES. 


PIG.    157.     ORAIBI    TRAY   OF   INTERLACED    WICKER  WEAVING,     SHOWING 
GEOMETRIC     ORNAMENT,     PROBABLY    MODIFIED    BY    IDEOGRAPHIC 

ASSOCIATION. 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS.  137 

conventional  elaboration,  the  figures  being  arranged  in  rays,  zones, 
checkers,  and  the  like.  It  is  to  be  expected,  however,  that  the  normal 
ornament  of  this  class  of  products  should  be  greatly  interfered  with 
through  attempts  to  introduce  extraneous  elements,  for  the  peoples 
have  advanced  to  a  stage  of  culture  at  which  it  is  usual  to  attempt  the 
introduction  of  mythologic  representations  into  all  art. 

Non-essential  constructive  features. — Now,  all  the  varied  effects 
of  color  and  design  described  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  are  obtained 
without  seriously  modifying  the  simple  necessary  construction,  without 
resorting  to  the  multiple  extraordinary  devices  within  easy  reach.  The 
development  and  utilization  of  the  latter  class  of  resources  must  now 
receive  attention.  In  the  preceding  examples,  when  it  was  desired  to 
begin  a  figure  in  color  the  normal  ground  filament  was  dropped  out  and 
a  colored  one  set  into  its  place  and  made  to  fill  its  office  while  it  remain 
ed  ;  but  we  find  that  in  many  classes  of  work  the  colored  elements  were 
added  to  the  essential  parts,  not  substituted  for  them,  although  they 
are  usually  of  use  in  perfecting  the  fabric  by  adding  to  serviceability  as 


PIG.  158.    ORAIBI  WICKER  BASKET  OP  INTERLACED     STYLE  OF  WEAVING, 
SHOWING  GEOMETRIC  ORNAMENT,       PROBABLY 
MODIFIED  BY  IDEOGRAPHIC  ASSOCIATION. 

well  as  to  beauty.  This  is  illustrated,  for  example,  by  the  doubling  of 
one  series  or  of  both  warp  and  woof,  by  the  introduction  of  pile,  by 
wrapping  filaments  with  strands  of  other  colors,  or  by  twisting  in 
feathers.  Savage  nations  in  all  parts  of  the  world  are  acquainted  with 
devices  of  this  class  and  employ  them  with  great  freedom.  The  effects 
produced  often  correspond  closely  to  needle-work,  and  the  materials 
employed  are  often  identiceal  in  both  varieties  of  execution. 

The  following  examples  will  serve  to  illustrate  my  meaning.  The 
effects  seen  in  Fig.  159  are  observed  in  a  small  hand  wallet  obtained  in 
Mexico.  The  fillets  employed  appear  to  be  wide,  flattened  straws  of 
varied  colors.  In  order  to  avoid  the  monotony  of  a  plain  checker 
certain  of  the  light  fillets  are  wrapped  with  thin  fillets  of  dark  tint  in 
such  a  way  that  when  woven  the  dark  color  appears  in  small  squares 
placed  diagonally  with  the  fundamental  checkers.  Additional  effects 
are  produced  by  covering  certain  portions  of  the  filaments  with  straws 
of  distinct  color,  all  being  woven  in  with  the  fabric.  By  other  devices 


138 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


certain  parts  of  the  fillets  are  made  to  stand  out  from  the  surface  in 
sharp  points  and  in  ridges,  forming  geometric  figures,  either  normal 
or  added  elements  being  employed.  Another  device  is  shown  in  Fig. 
160.  Here  a  pattern  is  secured  by  carrying  dark  fillets  back  and  forth 
over  the  light  colored  fabric,  catching  them  down  at  regular  intervals 
during  the  process  of  weaving.  Again,  feathers  and  other  embellishing 
media  are  woven  in  with  the  roof.  Two  interesting  baskets  procured 
from  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest  coast  are  shown  in  Figs.  161  and 
162.  Feathers  of  brilliant  hues  are  fixed  to  and  woven  in  with  certain 
of  the  woof  strands,  which  are  treated,  in  the  execution  of  patterns, 
just  as  are  ordinary  colored  threads,  care  being  taken  not  to  destroy  the 


FIG.  159. 

Ornament  produced  by  wrapping 
certain  light  fillets  with  darker  ones 
before  weaving.  Mexican  work. 


FIG.    160. 

Ornamental  effect  secured  by  weav 
ing  in  series  of  dark  fillets,  forming 
a  superficial  device.  Work  of  the 
Klamath  Indians. 


beauty  of  the  feathers  in  the  process.  The  richly  colored  feathers  lying 
smoothly  in  one  direction  are  made  to  represent  various  figures  neces 
sarily  geometric. 

At  a  very  early  stage  of  culture  most  peoples  manifest  decided  artistic 
tendencies,  which  are  revealed  in  attempts  to  depict  various  devices, 
life  forms,  and  fancies  upon  the  skin  and  upon  the  surfaces  of  uten 
sils,  garments,  and  other  articles  and  objects.  The  figures  are  very 
often  decorative  in  effect  and  may  be  of  a  trivial  nature,  but  very 
generally  such  art  is  serious  and  pertains  to  events  or  superstitions 
The  devices  employed  may  be  purely  conventional  or  geometric,  con 
taining  no  graphic  element  whatever ;  but  life  forms  afford  the  most 
natural  and  satisfactory  means  of  recording,  conveying,  and  symbol 
izing  ideas,  and  hence  preponderate  largely. 

An  illustration  is  drawn  from  a  fine  example  of  the  basketry  of  the 
Yokut  Indians  of  California.  The  two  figures  of  Fig.  163  form  part  of 
a  spirally  radiating  band  of  ornament,  which  is  shown  to  good  advan 
tage  in  the  small  cut  of  the  complete  basket  in  Fig.  164.  It  is  of  the 
coiled  style  of  construction.  The  design  is  worked  in  four  colors  and 
the  effect  is  quiet  and  rich.  A  fuller  description  of  this  beautiful  basket 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS. 


139 


will  be  found  accompanying  Fig.  236.  Remarkably  similar  to  this, 
is  an  ancient  Peruvian  basket,  woven  from  rushes.  The  base  and  rim 
of  the  basket  are  woven  in  the  intertwined  combination,  but  in  the 
decorated  belt  the  style  is  changed  to  the  plain  right  angled  interlacing, 
for  the  reason,  no  doubt,  that  this  combination  was  better  suited  to 
the  development  of  the  intended  design.  Besides  the  fundamental  series 
of  fillets,  the  weaver  resorted  to  unusual  devices  in  order  to  secure 
certain  desired  results.  In  the  first  place  the  black  horizontal  series 
of  filaments  does  not  alternate  in  the  simplest  way  with  the  brown  series, 


FIGS.    161,    162.     FINE    CALIFORNIA   BASKETRY,    ORNAMENTED 
WITH  FEATHER  WORK. 

but,  where  a  wide  space  of  the  dark  color  is  called  for,  several  of  the 
brown  strands  are  passed  over  at  one  step,  as  in  the  head  and  body, 
and  in  the  wider  interspaces  the  dark  strands  pass  under  two  or  more  of 
the  opposing  strands.  In  this  way  broad  areas  of  color  are  obtained. 
It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  the  construction  is  weakened  by  this 
modification,  and  that  to  remedy  the  defect  two  additional  extra  con- 


FIG.   164.     FIGURES   ON   A  YOKUT   BASKET, 

structive  series  of  fillets  are  added.  These  are  of  much  lighter  weight 
than  the  main  series,  that  they  may  not  obscure  the  pattern.  Over  the 
dark  series  they  run  vertically  and  over  the  light  obliquely. 

It  will  be  seen  in  Fig.  149  that  the  result,  notwithstanding  all  this 
modification  of  procedure,  is  still  remarkably  like  that  of  the  preceding 
examples,  the  figures  corresponding  closely  in  kind  and  degree  of 
geometricity. 

The  fact  is  that  in  this  coarse  work  refinement  of  drawing  is  abso 
lutely  unattainable.  It  appears  that  the  sharply  pronounced  steps  ex 
hibited  in  the  outlines  are  due  to  the  great  width  of  the  fillets  used. 


140 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIG.  163.     CONVENTIONAL  FIGURES 
FROM  A  CALIFORNIA    INDIAN    BASKET. 


FIG.   165.     HUMAN   FIGURE    MODIFIED   BY   EXECUTION  IN 
CONCENTRIC    INTERLACED    STYLE     OF    WEAVING. 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS.  14! 

That  the  range  of  results  produced  by  varying  styles  of  weaving  and 
of  woven  objects  may  be  appreciated,  I  present  some  additional 
examples.  Coiled  wares,  for  instance,  present  decorative  phenomena 
strikingly  at  variance  with  those  in  which  there  is  a  rectangular  dispos 
ition  of  parts.  Instead  of  the  two  or  more  interlacing  series  of  parallel 
fillets  exhibited  in  the  latter  style,  we  have  one  radiate  and  one  concen 
tric  series.  The  effect  of  this  arrangement  upon  the  introduced  human 
figure  is  very  striking,  as  this  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  Fig.  165  which 
represents  a  large  tray  obtained  from  the  Hopi  Indians.  The  figure 
probably  represents  one  of  the  mythologic  personages  of  the  Hopi 
pantheon  or  some  otherwise  important  priestly  functionary,  wearing  the 
charactistic  head-dress  of  the  ceremony  in  which  the  plaque  was  to  be 
used.  The  work  is  executed  in  wicker,  stained  in  such  bright  tints  as 
were  considered  appropriate  to  the  various  features  of  the  costume. 
Referring  in  detail  to  the  shape  and  arrangement  of  the  parts  of  the 
figure,  it  is  apparent  that  many  of  the  remarkable  features  are  due  to 
constructive  peculiarities.  The  round  face,  for  example,  does  not  refer 
to  the  sun  or  the  moon,  but  results  from  the  concentric  weaving.  The 
oblique  eyes  have  no  reference  to  a  Mongolian  origin,  as  they  only 
follow  the  direction  of  the  ray  upon  which  they  are  woven,  and  the 
head-dress  does  not  refer  to  the  rainbow  or  the  aurora  because  it  is 
arched,  but  is  arched  because  the  construction  forced  it  into  the  shape. 
The  proportion  of  the  figure  is  not  so  very  bad  because  the  Hopi 
artist  did  not  know  better,  but  because  the  surface  of  Hie  tray  did  not 
afford  room  to  project  the  body  and  limbs. 

In  the  attempt  to  reproduce  bird  or  other  forms  of  basketry,  strange 
and  marvelous  results  are  obtained — strange  in  their  appearance,  mar 
vellous  in  that  any  artist,  however  crude,  could  see  in  those  results  any 
resemblance  to  the  object  she  desired  to  portray.  Yet  it  is  in  this  way 
complex  and  singular  designs  of  direct  symbolic  and  ideographic 
meaning  have  arisen.  Professor  Holmes  illustrates  this  with  the  con 
ventional  pattern  of  a  Hopi  plaque  or  tray,  Fig.  166.  He  says : 

"We  have  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  bird  at  all,  although  the 
conception  is  identical  with  the  preceding.  The  positions  of  the  head 
the  legs  and  the  expended  wings  and  tail  correspond  as  closely  as  pos 
sible,  but  delineation  is  hampered  by  technique.  The  peculiar  construc 
tion  barely  permits  the  presentation  of  a  recognizable  life  form,  and  per 
mits  it  in  a  particular  way,  which  will  be  understood  by  a  comparison 
with  the  treatment  of  the  human  figure  in  Fig.  165.  In  that  case  the  in 
terlaced  combination  gives  relievo  results,  characterized  by  wide  radiat 
ing  ribs  and  narrow,  inconspicuous,  concentric  lines,  which  cross  the 
ribs  in  long  steps.  The  power  of  expression  lies  almost  wholly  with 
the  concentric  series,  and  detail  must  in  a  great  measure  follow  the  con 
centric  lines.  In  the  present  case  (Fig.  166)  this  is  reversed  and  lines 
emploved  in  expressing  forms  are  radiate. 

"The  precise  effect  of  this  difference  of  construction  upon  a  partic 
ular  feature  may  be  shown  by  the  introduction  of  another  illustration 
In  Fig.  167  we  have  a  bird  woven  in  a  basket  of  the  interlaced  style 
We  see  with  what  ease  the  long  sharp  bill  and  the  slender  tongue 
(shown  bv  a  red  filament  between  the  two  dark  mandibles)  are  expres 
sed.  In  the  other  case  the  construction  is  such  that  the  bill,  if  extended 
in  the  normal  direction,  is  broad  and  square  at  the  end,  and  the  tongue, 
instead  of  lying  between  the  mandibles,  must  run  across  the  bill,  totaU 


1 42 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIG.  166.     FIGURE  OF  A  BIRD  EXECUTED  IN  COILED  HOPI  TRAY, 
TEXTILE  DELINEATION. 


FIG.   167.     FIGURE  OF  A  BIRD  WOVEN  IN   INTERLACED   WICKER 
AT  ONE  SIDE  OF  THE  CENTER. 


BASKET  FORMS  AND  DESIGNS.  143 

ly  at  variance  with  the  truth ;  in  this  case  the  tongue  is  so  represented, 
the  light  vertical  band  seen  in  the  cut  being  a  yellow  stripe.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  two  representations  are  very  unlike  each  other,  not 
because  of  difference  in  the  conception  and  not  wholly  on  account  of 
the  style  of  weaving,  but  rather  because  the  artist  chose  to  extend  one 
across  the  whole  surface  of  the  utensil  and  to  confine  the  other  to  one 
side  of  the  center. 

"It  is  clear,  therefore,  from  the  preceding  observations  that  the  con 
vention  of  woven  life  forms  varies  with  the  kind  of  weaving,  with  the 
shape  of  the  object,  with  the  position  upon  the  object,  and  with  the 
shape  of  the  space  occupied,  as  well  as  with  the  inherited  style  of  treat- 


FIG.    167a.— YOKUT    WOMAN    CARRYING  A  T.OAD  OF  FRUIT. 

ment  and  with  the  capacity  of  the  artist  concerned.  These  varied  forces 
and  influences  unite  in  the  metamorphosis  of  all  the  incoming  elements 
of  textile  embellishment." 

As  a  fitting  conclusion  to  this  chapter  I  commend  to  my  readers  the 
following  pregnant  utterance : 

''The  first  woman  making  a  change  in  any  natural  object  for  the 
gratification  which  it  afforded  her  is  the  starting  point  of  three  evolu 
tions  :  that  of  art  itself,  whether  textile,  plastic,  or  musical ;  of  herself 
in  the  practice  of  it,  growing  out  of  a  mere  imitator  to  be  a  creator : 
of  the  universal  or  public  appreciation  of  art,  of  what  might  be  called  the 
racial  or  the  tribal  im  :gination." — Mason. 


144 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIG.    168.      TULE   RESERVATION   WEAVER   USING   ACORN   SIFTER. 
Copyright  by  George  Wharton  James. 





FIG.    169.     GRANARIES    OF    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA    INDIANS. 


SOME    USES    OF    INDIAN    BASKETS. 


145 


CHAPTER  X. 
SOME  USES  OF  INDIAN  BASKETS. 

Being  the  chief  carrying  utensil  of  the  Amerind,  the  basket,  neces 
sarily,  has  assumed  many  and  varied  forms  to  correspond  with  the 
many  and  varied  uses  for  which  it  was  desired.  Hence  a  multiplicity 
of  forms  and  uses  exist.  Among  the  tribes  of  Southern  California  there 
are  bowls,  saucers,  and  flat  plaques.  Then  there  are  dainty  shapes 


From  The    traveler,   Ban  jp'rancisco. 

FIG.    170.     CAHUILLA,    SABOBA,    ETC.,    BASKETS    IN    THE  COLLECTION  OF 
GEORGE    WHARTON   JAMES. 

where  the  sides  narrow  toward  the  top  and  make  a  graceful  form — an 
enclosed  bowl  shape,  so  common  with  all  California  tribes.  There  is 
even  variety  in  this  "enclosed  bowl"  shape.  Some  are  made  flat  at  the 
bottom  and  then  narrow  towards  the  top,  with  almost  vertical  sloping 
sides ;  others  are  shaped  with  an  almost  flat  bottom,  the  sides  rounding 
out  and  then  narrowing  towards  the  top.  This  gives  the  latter  the  shape 
of  a  pumpkin  with  the  top  cut  off.  There  are  ovals  almost  flat  and  also 
with  the  sides  shaped  in  the  two  styles  of  the  circular  bowls  just  de 
scribed. 


146 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


Another  common  form  is  the  milk  pan,  a  most  convenient  and  use 
ful  shape.  Still  another  is  that  of  the  inverted  sugar-cone.  This  is 
used  by  many  tribes  as  a  hat,  over  which  the  band  of  the  "reda"  or 
carrying  net,  is  placed. 

A  small  bowl-shaped  basket,  without  a  bottom,  is  also  placed 
on  the  top  of  their  "Ka-wa-wohl"  (see  Fig.  26) — a  granite  grinding 
stone  or  mortar — thus  preventing  the  seeds,  grain  or  acorns  from  escap 
ing  while  being  ground  or  pounded.  The  basket  is  fastened  to  the 
granite  by  a  layer  of  pinion  gum,  which  sticks  the  two  almost  as  per 
fectly  as  if  they  had  grown  together. 

In  addition  to  these :  ''There  are  the  prettily  woven  nest  for  the 
pappoose ;  the  large  plaque-shaped  basket  on  which  the  Indians  gamble 
with  dice  made  of  walnut-shells,  halved,  filled  with  brea  (tar)  into  which 


FIG.    171.     PRIMITIVE   FISH  WEIR,    MADE    OF   BASKETRY. 


wampum  is  pressed;  the  queer  conical  basket  in  which  burdens  are 
borne  on  the  back ;  the  bottle-necked  basket,  beloved  of  connois 
seurs;  baskets  that  serve  as  ^wardrobes;  "pitched"  baskets  in  which 
water  is  carried ;  deep  bowl-shaped  baskets,  in  which  water  is  heated 
for  cooking  by  the  throwing  in  of  hot  stones ;  grain  sifters,  tobacco 
pouches  and  many  others." 

Grace  Ellery  Channing  thus  sums  up  some  of  the  shapes :  "Great 
bell-shaped  black  and  white  ones ;  tall,  delicate,  vase-like  shapes ;  odd 
ones  like  hour-glasses  broken  abruptly ;  some  small  and  dainty  like  a 
lady's  bonbonnierre ;  others  flat  and  like  tiny  saucers  for  sweet-breathed 
violets." 

The  cradle  has  its  own  peculiar  shape,  and  the  harvesting  wand  is 
unlike  anything  else  the  basket  makers  have  produced.  The  water 


SOME    USES    OF    INDIAN    BASKETS. 

bottles  of  the  Desert  Indians  have  their  distinctive  shape,  and  the  trin 
ket  baskets  of  the  Yokut  and  Poma  are  entirely  different  from  the  yucca 
floor  or  sleeping  mats  of  the  Pueblos.  The  kathak  of  the  Havasupai 
is  an  improvement  upon  the  wood  basket  of  the  Poma,  and  the  ex 
quisite  shaped  bottle  basket  of  the  so-called  Mission  Indian  is  a  marvel 
ous  advance  upon  the  crude  willow  work  of  the  Hopi. 

And  all  these  forms  have  their  motif  in  the  uses  to  which  design  or 
accident  led  them. 

Fig.  171  is  a  representation,  from  Hariot,  of  a  fish-weir  made  of 
crude  basketry  and  used  in  prehistoric  and  later  times  in  Virginia. 
Slender  poles  set  in  the  shallow  water  were  held  in  place  by  wattling 
or  interlacing  of  pliable  parts. 

Teit  says  the  Thompson  Indians  of  British  Columbia  use  their  bas 
kets  for  storage,  carrying  and  other  useful  purposes.  "Large  oblong 
baskets  with  lids  are  used  for  storing  food  and  clothing.  Smaller 


FIG.   172.     CONICAL   SHAPED   BASKET  OF   THOMPSON  INDIANS. 


ones  of  the  same  kind  serve;  for  holding  sewing  materials  and  trinkets. 
Their  lids  slide  up  and  down  on  a  string,  which  at  the  same  time  serves 
as  a  handle.  Recently  the  lids  have  been  hinged  to  the  baskets.  The 
most  common  kind  of  basket  is  the  conical  shape  shown  in  Fig.  172, 
and  is  used  for  carrying.  Still  another  kind  which  is  rounded,  or,  as  the 
Indian  says,  nut-shaped,  was  formerly  used  for  holding  water.  Round, 
open  baskets  served  as  kettles,  the  food  being  boiled  by  throwing  hot 
stones  into  it.  Such  food  is  generally  served  in  the  basket  in  which  it 
is  cooked,  and  is  either  supped  out  of  the  basket  or  poured  into  small 
bark  cups.  Still  another  kind  of  basket  has  a  flat  back,  which  is  made 
to  hang  against  the  post  or  wall.  In  shape  it  is  similar  to  the  fish  bas 
ket  used  by  anglers.  Such  baskets  are  used  for  holding  tobacco  and 
pipes,  a  hole  in  the  center  of  the  lid  allowing  the  pipe-stem  to  protrude. 
At  one  time  they  were  much  used  for  holding  bait  and  fishing  tackle, 
for  which  reasoi  -'  :hey  were  called  'used  for  bait/  Some  Indians 


148 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


FIG.   173.     POMA    WITH  RUDE  WOOD  BASKET. 


SOME   USES   OF   INDIAN   BASKETS.  149 

belonging  to  the  Lytton  band  used  the  same  kind  of  baskets  for  saddle 
bags." 

"Large  open  baskets  made  of  cedar  twigs,  of  the  same  shape  as 
those  used  by  the  Lower  Lillooet  and  the  Coast  tribes,  were  also  made 
by  the  Lower  Thompson  Indians.  They  were  used  fcr  carrying  fish. 
Very  few  of  them  are  used  at  the  present  day."  They  are  of  coarse 
weave  somewhat  similar  to  the  crude  carrying  basket  shown  in  Fig. 

173- 

It  was  natural  that  as  soon  as  basketry  became  a  general  art, 
cradles  for  the  carrying-  of  their  babies  should  be  made  by  the  early 
basket  makers.  /These  are  of  rude  willow  work.  The  child  is  strapped 
to  the  main  portion  of  the  carrying  cradle,  and  a  piece  of  calico  or 
blanket  is  thrown  over  the  semi-circular  head  piece,  to  protect  the  child 
from  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun.  Fig.  174  is  one  of  these  cradles,  made 


FIG.  174.  ZUNI  TOY  CRADLE  AND  DOLL. 

by  a  Zuni  mother  for  her  child  to  play  with,  and  a  rude,  wooden  doll  may 
be  seen  within,  strapped  exactly  as  is  a  child  in  the  real  cradle. 

In  her  own  poetic  fashion  Mrs.  Carr  thus  wrote  of  these  baby 
cradles :  "Alone  in  the  forest,  or  beside  some  rippling  stream,  the  In 
dian  mother  received  into  her  bosom  the  little  brown  creature  who 
made  her  slavery  endurable.  Its  basket  nest,  cunningly  wrought  after 
the  fashion  of  a  butterfly's  cradle  was  fastened  to  a  small  frame  of 
wicker-work.  (Fig.  16.)  Taught  by  the  oriole,  she  lined  the  nest  with 
down  of  milk-weed  and  soft  fibres ;  but  prouder  or  less  wary  than  the 
bird,  she  decorated  it  outwardly  with  bright  feathers  and  strings  of  tiny 
shells.  When  she  travelled  the  precious  basket  was  strapped  to  her 
back,  and  she  never  parted  with  it  until  the  baby  died,  the  empty  bas 
ket  being  then  hung  above  its  grave.  When  at  home  the  baby  basket 
was  usually  fastened  to  the  nearest  tree,  where,  with  never  a  cry,  the 
little  bead  eyes  followed  the  moving  clouds  and  fluttering  leaves  into 
the  land  of  dreams,  while  the  mother  moulded  her  acorn  bread  in  a  bas 
ket  tray,  or  cooked  her  dinner  in  a  deep,  round  basket  into  which 
heated  stones  were  thrown  to  serve  the  purpose  of  fuel." 

The  Modok  women  make  a  very  pretty  baby  basket  of  fine  willow 
work,  cylinder  shaped,  with  one  half  of  it  cut  away,  except  a  few 
inches  at  t'  <\s.  It  is  intended  to  be  set  up  against  a  tree  or  carried 
on  the  bac.v,  nence  the  infant  is  lashed  perpendicularly  in  it,  with  its 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


tf  U 


s 


SOME    USES    OF    INDIAN    BASKETS.  I51 

feet  standing  out  free  at  one  end  and  the  other  end  covering  its  head  like 
a  small  parasol.  In  one,  this  canopy  is  supported  by  small  standards 
spirally  wrapped  with  strips  of  gay-colored  calico,  with  looped  and 
scalloped  hangings  between.  The  little  fellow  is  wrapped  all  around 
like  a  mummy,  with  nothing  visible  but  his  head,  and  some  times  even 
that  is  bandaged  back  tight  so  that  he  may  sleep  standing.  From  the 
manner  in  which  the  tender  skull  is  thus  bandaged  back,  it  occasion 
ally  results  that  it  grows  backward  and  upward  at  an  angle  of  about 
forty-five  degrees. 

The  painstaking  which  the  Modok  squaw  expends  on  her  baby  bas 
ket  is  an  index  to  her  maternal  love.     On  the  other  hand,  squaws  of 


FIGS.   177,   178,   179.  FIGS.  180,  181. 

HUPA  INDIAN   CRADLE   BASKET.  PYRAMID  LAKE  UTE  CRADLE. 

other  tribes  often  set  their  babies  in  deep  conical  baskets,  leaving  them 
loose  and  liable  to  fall  out.  If  such  a  squaw  makes  a  baby  basket  it 
is  totally  devoid  of  ornament,  and  one  tribe,  the  Miwok,  contemptu 
ously  call  it  the  "dogs'  nest."  It  is  among  Indians  like  these  that  we 
hear  of  infanticides. 

Figs.  177,  178  and  179  show  a  cradle  basket  and  methods  followed 
in  weaving,  of  the  Hupas  of  North-Western  California.  A  slipper- 
shaped  open-work  basket  of  osier  warp,  and  twined  weaving  consti 
tutes  the  body  of  the  cradle.  It  is  woven  as  follows :  Commencing 
at  the  upper  <md,  the  small  ends  of  the  twigs  are  held  in  place  one- 
eighth  inch  apart  by  three  rows  of  twined  weaving  followed  by  a  row 
in  which  an  extra  strengthening  twig  is  whipped  or  sewed  in  place.  At 


152 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


intervals  of  two  and  a  half  to  three  inches  rows  of  twined  basketry,, 
every  alternate  series  having  one  of  the  strengthening  twigs,  increasing 
in  thickness  downward.  The  twigs  constituting  the  true  bottom  of  the 
so-called  slipper  continue  to  the  end  of  the  square  toe  and  are  fastened 
off,  while  those  that  form  the  sides  are  ingeniously  bent  to  form  the 
vamp  of  the  slipper.  This  part  of  the  frame  is  held  together  by  rows  of 
twined  weaving  housetop  he  don.  When  two  rows  of  this  kind  of  twin 
ing  lie  quite  close,  it  has  the  appearance  of  four  ply  plaiting,  and  has 
been  taken  for  such  by  the  superficial  observer.  The  binding  around 


FIG.  182.     HOPI  WICKER  CRADLE 
WITH  AWNING. 


FIGS.  183,  184.    HOPI  WICKER  CRADLE 
WITH  AWNING. 


the  opening  of  the  cradle  is  formed  by  a  bundle  of  twigs  seized  with 
a  strip  of  tough  root.  The  awning  is  made  of  open  wicker  and  twined 
basketry  bound  with  colored  grass. 

In  the  United  States  National  Museum  there  is  a  cradle  for  a  new 
born  babe  from  the  McCloud  River  Indians,  of  California,  belonging 
to  the  basket  tray  type.  It  is  shaped  very  much  like  a  large  grain  scoop, 
or  the  lower  half  of  a  moccasin,  and  made  of  twigs,  in  twined  weaving1. 
There  are  double  rows  of  twining  two  inches,  or  such  ?  matter,  apart, 
and  nearly  all  of  them  are  boustrophedon,  which  gives  tr~  appearance 
of  four  ply  braid. 

Figs.  iSoand  181  show  a  Ute  cradle  from  Pyramid  Lake,  Nevada, 
with  twined  weaving,  and  demonstrates  the  modifying  influences  of 
the  nearby  California  peoples. 


SOME    USES   OP   INDIAN   BASKETS. 


153 


Of  the  cradle  baskets  of  the  Paiutis  found  on  the  Northern  "rim"  of 
the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  River,  Major  J.  W.  Powell  writes 
as  follows:  "Mothers  carry  their  babes  curiously  in  baskets.  They 
make  a  wicker  board,  by  plaiting  willows,  and  sew  a  buckskin  cloth 
to  either  edge,  and  this  is  fulled  in  the  middle,  so  as  to  form  a  sack, 
closed  at  the  bottom.  At  the  top,  they  make  a  wicker  shade,  like  'my 
grandmother's  sun-bonnet,'  and,  wrapping  the  little  one  in  a  wild-cat 
robe,  place  it  in  the  basket,  and  this  they  carry  on  their  backs,  strapped 
over  their  forehead,  and  the  little  brown  midgets  are  ever  peering  over 
their  mother's  shoulders.  In  camp,  they  stand  the  basket  against  the 
trunk  of  a  tree,  or  hang  it  to  a  limb." 


FIGS.   185,    186,   187.     SIAMESE   WICKER 

CARRYING     BASKETS,    BORNE    IN 

PAIRS    WITH    SHOULDER  POLE. 


FIGS.  188,  189.     CARRYING  BASKET 
OF   ARIKARA  (CADDOAN)  INDIANS. 


Fig.  182  is  a  Hopi  wicker  cradle  made  at  Oraibi.  The  important 
elements  it  displays  are  the  floor  and  the  awning.  The  floor  is  of  the 
ox-bow  type,  having  the  bow  at  the  foot  and  the  loose  ends  projecting 
upward  as  in  the  Yokaia  and  other  California  frames.  This  cradle 
frame  is  covered  with  wicker  of  unbarked  twigs,  four  rows  on  the  floor 
and  four  on  the  awning.  The  warp  of  the  floor  is  formed  of  series  hav 
ing  two  twigs  each.  There  is  a  great  variety  in  the  delicacy,  the  number 
of  warp  strands,  and  the  minor  details  in  the  Hopi  cradle  floors.  In 
deed,  while  they  are  all  alike  in  general  marks,  there  are  no  two  alike 
in  respect  to  patterns. 

The  awning  is  still  more  varied.     Fundamentally  it  is  a  band  of 


154 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


wicker  basketry  longer  than  the  cradle  is  wide,  its  ends  securely  fast 
ened  to  the  frame  sides  by  lashings  of  yucca  fibre  or  string.  Here  and 
there  stitches  are  omitted  so  as  to  effect  an  open  work  ornamentation. 
An  additional  strip  frequently  passes  at  right  angles  from  the  apex  of 
the  awning  at  the  upper  edge  to  the  floor  of  the  frame  at  its  upper  endr 
as  shown  in  the  diminutive  Fig.  184. 

Fig.  183  is  a  cruder  and  simpler  form  made  by  the  same  people. 
Both  styles  are  in  use  at  the  present  time,  but  Fig.  182  is  the  type  of 
those  most  general. 

The  use  of  baskets  for  carrying  heavy  loads  was  a  natural  outcome 
of  their  earliest  development.  However  the  first  basket  was  made,  it 
would  readily  be  suggested  to  the  most  immature  and  sluggish  of  minds 


FIGS.    190,    191,   192.     CHOCTAW  CARRYING 
BASKET  AND  VARIATIONS  IN  WEAVE. 


FIGS.  193,  194,  195. 

CONICAL  CARRYING  BASKET    WITH 
RODS    AND    PLAITED    HEAD  BAND. 


that  a  number  of  small  objects  could  be  confined  in  a  large  basket  and 
thus  carried  to  and  fro  with  ease.  Its  use  for  this  purpose  is  world-wide. 
Fig.  185  shows  a  wicker  carrying  basket,  used  in  the  oriental  kingdom 
of  Siam.  It  consists  of  a  pole  and  two  baskets.  Each  end_pf  the  pole 
pierces  a  basket  from  side  to  side,  holes  having  been  provided  for  this 
purpose.  The  material  of  this  structure  is  split  rattan  done  in  wicker 
work.  Cords  are  provided  for  packing  the  load  and  blocks  of  wood  are 
attached  to  the  bottom  of  each  basket  to  protect  the  weaving.  Figs. 
1 86  and  187,  at  the  bottom  of  the  larger  engraving,  show  how  the 
bearer  carries  the  two  baskets,  and  also  the  simple  weave  of  the  wicker 
work. 


SOME    USES   OF   INDIAN   BASKETS. 


155 


Of  a  style  somewhat  similiar  in  shape  and  general  construction  to 
carrying  baskets  of  the  Hopi  and  Zunis,  though  of  much  finer  work 
manship  is  the  old  carrying  basket  of  the  Arikaras,  (Fig.  188).  These 
Indians  live  in  Dakota  and  are  of  the  Panian  or"Caddoan  stock.  The 
basket  is  quadrilateral,  widest  on  the  top  and  longer  than  wide.  Four 
bent  poles  constitute  the  frame,  each  one  forming  the  basis  of  a  side 
or  end.  The  end  ones,  much  like  ox-yoke  bows,  project  below  the 
others  to  form  a  rest  for  the  basket.  At  the  top  the  ends  of  the  poles  are 
held  in  place  by  means  of  a  loop.  The  weaving  is  diagonal  in  narrow 
strips  of  birch  and  other  tough  bark,  varying  in  color,  and  the  method 
of  producing  the  wavy  design  is  revealed  in  Fig.  189. 

Fig.  190  is  a  form  of  carrying  basket  quite  common  among  the 
Choctaw  Indians  of  Louisiania.  It  is  a  hamper  holding  a  bushel  or 


FIG.   199. 

Forehead  Pad  Worn  oy 
the  Hupa  (Athapascan) 
Indians  of  California. 


FIGS.  196,  197. 
McCLOUD  CONICAL  BURDEN  BASKET. 

more,  wider  at  top  than  at  bottom.  It  is  made  of  the  common  cane, 
split  and  woven  by  diagonal  weaving,  as  shown  in  Figs.  191  and  192, 
the  universal  method  among  the  Southern  tribes  of  the  United  States 
upon  all  baskets  whatever.  The  head  band  of  leather  is  attached  to  the 
sides  of  the  basket. 

Fig.  193  is  a  conical  carrying  basket  used  by  the  Clallam  Indians  at 
Pyramid  Lake,  Nevada.  It  shows  how  the  savage  inventor  converted 
the  soft  wallet  of  the  north  into  the  hard  cone  of  the  south.  The  web  of 
the  basket  is  from  rushes  united  by  twine  weaving,  by  braiding,  and  by 
the  plaiting  of  a  single  filament,  as  shown  in  Figs.  194  and  195.  This 
soft,  open  i.et-work  is  converted  into  a  light  but  strong  cone  by  the 
insertion  of  a  hoop  into  the  top  and  the  fixing  of  six  vertical  rods  at  the 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


hoop  at  equal  distances,  uniting  their  ends  at  the  bottom  of  the  cone, 
and  sewing  them  to  the  texture  of  the  wallet  inside. 

Fig.  196  is  a  burden  basket  used  by  the  McCloud  River  Indians  of 
Shasta  Co.,  California.  In  the  Clallam  basket  just  noted,  the  head 
band  encircles  the  cone  about  the  middle,  raising  the  load  high  on  the 
back,  after  the  'manner  of  the  Oriental  water  carriers. 

The  California  woman  has  abundance  of  rhus,  hazel,  willow,  pine 
root,  and  other  rigid  material  and  may  decorate  the  surface  with  differ 
ent  fern  stems,  straw,  and  dyed  splint.  So  she  makes  her  baskets  in 
twined  weaving,  having  rigid  switches  or  small  stems  for  her  warp. 
But  in  this  Central  California  region  there  is  a  device  of  strengthening 
the  texture  not  sufficiently  explained  in  the  drawing.  It  is,  in  fact, 
the  union  of  what  has  been  called  the  twined  stitch,  shown  in  Fig.  197, 
with  the  bird-cage  stitch. 


FIG.  198.     POMA  MAN   CARRYING 
WOOD  IN  CONICAL  BASKET. 


FIGS.    200,    201,    202.    PAIUTI    SEED 
BASKET  AND  GATHERING  WAND. 


There  are  three  elements:  i.  The  fundamental  or  vertical  warp 
of  twigs ;  2.  Across  this  at  right  angles  a  horizontal  subsidiary  warp 
of  twig  carried  around  in  the  process  of  weaving,  and,  3,  a  web  or  weft 
of  twined  weaving  uniting  the  two.  Dr.  Hudson,  whose  great  know 
ledge  has  often  been  drawn  on  in  these  pages,  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  all  the  northern  stitches  culminate  in  the  Sacramento  Valley 
and  parts  adjacent,  and  that  the  Yokaian  stock  are  very  adept  at  this 
composite  style  of  texture.  The  top  of  this  basket  is  strengthened  by  a 
hoop,  to  which  the  carrying  band  is  attached.  The  bottom  is  strength 
ened  by  close  weaving. 


SOME   USES   OF   INDIAN   BASKETS. 


157 


The  Poma  Indians  use  a  conical  basket  for  carrying,  held  on  the 
back  in  a  sling  (Fig.  198),  the  head  band  of  which  passes  over  the  car 
rier's  brow.  Dr.  Hudson  once  saw  an  old  woman  carry  three  bushels 
of  potatoes  in  this  manner  through  rain  and  mud  to  her  home  two  miles 
distant.  Greater  loads  are  not  unusual  to  the  m^n,  and  as  a  consequent 
result  of  such  customary  labor  the  Poma  Indian  is  abnormally  devel 
oped  in  the  dorsal  and  the  anterior  cervical  muscles,  besides  having  a 
chest  magnificent  in  proportions.  This  applies  also  to  the  Cahuilla, 
the  Havasupai,  Paiuti  and  other  Indians,  who,  like  the  Poma  are  ac 
customed  to  carry  large  burdens  on  the  back  with  the  carrying  band 
over  the  forehead. 

Fig.  199  is  an  elaborately  constructed  head  band  worn  by  the  Natano 
band  of  Hupa  Indians,  Athapascan  stock,  living  on  the  reservation  of 
the  same  name  (spelled  Hoopah,  however)  in  Northern  California.  It 
consists  of  a  loosely  woven,  visor-like  pad  to  fit  on  the  forehead,  and  is 


FIG.  203. 

Painti  Water   Bottle 
and  Food  Basket. 


F  G-.  204. 


FIGS.  207,  208.  APACHE  ORNAMENTED  CARRYING 
BASKET. 


held  in  place  by  a  rope  made  of  the  warp  of  the  pad,  sewed  with  twine 
made  from  the  native  hemp.  This  apparatus  is  first  placed  on  the  head, 
and  then  the  head  band  of  the  load  or  of  the  tracking  line  is  worn  over 
it.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Hupas  are  the  kinfolks  of  the 
Carrier  Indians  of  Canada  and  Alaska. 

Figs.  200,  201,  202,  are  a  Paiuti  seed  basket  and  gathering  wand. 
The  Paiutis  are  part  of  the  Great  Shoshonean  family  which  occupies 
the  territory  from  the  northern  border  of  Mexico  to  Costa  Rica.  This, 
an.l  all  similar  baskets  of  the  Paiutis  are  made  of  split  osiers, 
rhv.s  stems,  and  the  scions  of  other  plants  not  identified  worked  into 


158 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


twined  weaving,  Fig.  201,  leaving  a  very  rough  surface  on  account  of 
the  harshness  of  the  material.  Once  in  a  while  a  narrow  band  of  black 
varies  the  monotony.  But  generally  the  carrying  baskets  have  a  uni 
form  hue  and  texture. 

In  the  days  before  the  advent  of  the  white  man  the  Paiutis  and 
many  other  kindred  peoples  were  gleaners  of  all  sorts  of  grass  seeds ; 
the  women  went  out  with  these  baskets,  stood  them  on  the  point  behind 
a  bunch  of  goose  foot  or  other  plant,  with  the  fan  or  wand,  Fig.  202, 
knocked  the  seeds  into  the  cone  until  it  was  full,  hung  the  load  on  their 
backs  by  means  of  the  headband,  and  carried  it  home.  The  contents 
were  winnowed,  ground,  and  cooked  by  the  same  industrious  women. 


FIG.  205.     CARRYING  NET  MADE  OF 

AGAVE  FIBER,  USED  BY  THE 

TEMECULA    INDIANS  OF 

CALIFORNIA. 


FIG:   206.     CARRYING   N£T   OR  REDA 

USED  BY  THE  MISSION  INDIANS 

OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Even  to  this  day  here  and  there,  in  isolated  regions,  one  may  find  the 
aboriginal  women  thus  collecting  seeds.  In  the  mountain  valleys  near 
Mount  San  Jacinto,  and  on  the  plateaux  surrounding  Havasu  (Cataract 
Canyon)  where  dwell  the  Havasupais  I  have  often  seen  this  gathering 
of  wild  seeds. 

Mr.  F.  V.  Coville  thus  describes  the  same  process  :  "The  Panamtnt 
woman,  of  Death  Valley,  California,  of  Shoshonean  stock,  in  harvesting 
the  sand-grass  seed  (Oryzopsis  membranacea)  carries  in  one  hand  a 
small  funnel-shaped  basket  and  in  the  other  a  paddle  made  of  wicker 


SOME   USES   OF   INDIAN   BASKETS. 


159 


work,  resembling  a  tennis  racket.  With  this  she  beats  the  grass 
panicles  over  the  rim  of  the  basket,  causing  the  seeds  to  fall  inside. 
When  the  basket  becomes  filled  she  takes  it  on  her  back,  holding  it  in 
place  with  her  two  hands  brought  over  her  shoulders,  or  by  means  of 
a  soft  band  of  buckskin  across  her  forehead." 

And  he  thus  describes  the  gathering  of  the  pine  nuts : 
"In  early  autumn  the  women  beat  the  cones  of  the  pine  (Pinus 
monophylla)  from  the  trees,  gathered  them  in  baskets,   and   spread 
them  out  to  dry.     As   soon  as  the  cones  had  cracked,  the  primitive 


FIGS.    209,    210.     HOPI    OR   ZUNI   GATHERING    FIGS.    211,    212.     BASKET    FOR    CARRYING 
CRATE  OR  CARRYING  BASKET.  CACTUS    (PRICKLY    PEARS)    USED    BY 

THE  DIEGUENOS  (YUMAN)  INDIANS  OF 
SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 

harvester  beat  out  the  nuts,  raked  off  the  cones,  and  gathered  her 
crop,  which  she  carried  on  her  back  to  a  dry  place  among  the  rocks, 
where  she  made  a  cache  for  her  spoils.  When  she  was  ready  to  serve 
them  she  put  them  into  a  shallow  basket  with  some  coals,  and  shook 
the  mass  around  until  the  nuts  were  roasted.  Thus  prepared,  she  had 
her  lord  and  her  little  family  either  shell  and  munch  them  without 
further  preparation,  or  she  ground  them  in  a  wooden  mortar  with 
a  stone  pestle,  to  be  eaten  dry  or  made  into  soup.  Every  other  edible 
seed  this  practical  botanist  gathered  and  roasted  in  the  same  way." 

Fig.  203  is  of  a  basket  bottle  made  by  Painti  Indians,  who  occupy 
tho  western  edge  of  Nevada,  near  to  the  Eastern  foot  hills  of  the  Sierra 
NeVada.  Fig.  204  is  of  a  basket  bowl  made  by  the  same  people. 
Though  the  former  are  intended  to  be  covered  with  pinion  gum  to 


i6o 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


make  them  waterproof  the  weavers  seem  to  find  delight  in  working 
into  them  various  striking  and  attractive  designs,  this  one  having  three 
distinct  circles  of  the  conventionalized  lightning. 

The  upper  design  on  Fig.  204  is  somewhat  unique.  It  represents 
the  wavy  line  of  mountains  and  valleys,  common  with  many  weavers, 
but  on  the  summits  of  the  mountains  are  rain  clouds,  and  reaching 
down  beyond  into  the  valleys  are  water-courses  terminating  in  lakes. 

Figs.  205  and  206  are  of  redas,  or  carrying  nets,  of  the  Mission 
Indians  of  California.  The  latter  is  marked  Temecula,  who  are  Sho- 
shonean,  and  the  former  is  of  the  Cahuilla  people  who  are  of  Apache 
stock.  Each  of  these  is  a  strip  of  open  netting  with  fixed  meshes, 


FIGS.   213,   214.     CARRYING   BASKET,   WRAP 
PED  WEAVING,   USED  BY  THE  MOHAVE 
INDIANS  OF  ARIZONA, 


FIG.    217.    NAVAHO    TUSJEH 

OR    WATER  BOTTLE  MADE 

BY  THE  PAIUTIS. 


gathered  up  at  the  ends  into  an  eyelet  or  loop  like  a  hammock,  and 
provided  with  a  carrying  rope  of  the  same  kind.  The  nets  are  of  bast 
fibre,  probably  Apocynum.  The  knots  are  sometimes  the  standard 
mesh  knot,  "bowline  on  a  bight,"  in  a  nautical  phrase,  and  sometimes 
square.  It  is  this  reda  that  suggested  the  net  pattern  on  the  rigid 
baskets  woven  by  the  Mission  Indians,  illustrations  of  which  are  given 
elsewhere. 

The  Apaches  of  Arizona  make  a  modified  conical  basket,  hand 
somely  woven  and  ornamented  of  which  Fig.  207  is  a  fair  example. 
The  material  and  stitch  are  precisely  those  of  the  Utes,  but  there /ire 
three  noticeable  features.  The  basket  is  oblong,  like  a  northern  pack; 
the  surface  is  decorated  by  plain  colored  and  checkered  bands,  and 
hanging  from  the  top  and  the  bottom  are  fringes  of  buckskin,  at  the 


SOME    USES    OF    INDIAN    BASKETS. 


161 


ends  of  which  are  the  false  hoofs  of  deer  and  bits  of  tin  rolled  up.  The 
small  square  below,  Fig.  208,  shows  how  the  variations  of  stitch  produce 
ornamentation  effect. 

Fig.  209  is  a  specimen  of  crude  Hopi  or  Zuni  work  and  is  built  upon 
corner  bows  and  warp  of  three  sticks  together;  the  filling  is  in  wicker 
and  the  ends  are  fastened  off  very  neatly  by  tucking  them  in,  as  is 
shown  by  Fig.  210. 

Fig.  211  is  a  basket  used  for  carrying  cactus  fruit  and  other  coarse 
substances,  and  is  made  by  the  Dieguenos,  Mission  Indians,  of  the 
villages  in  San  Diego  County.  As  will  be  seen,  it  is  in  twined  weaving 
of  the  rudest  sort,  a  globose  wallet,  strikingly  similar  in  shape  to  the 
great  pottery  ollas  made  and  used  by  the  neighboring  tribes.  The 
noteworthy  character  about  this  basket  is  the  occurrence  of  twined 
weaving  (which  is  enlarged  in  Fig.  212)  so  far  south.  On  the  testimony 
of  the  basket  collections  in  the  National  Museum  and  elsewhere  there 
does  not  exist  a  tribe  south  of  this  line  that  practices  it. 


FIG.  215. 
CONGO  CARRYING  BASKET. 


FIG.  216. 
ZUNI  BASKET  WATER  BOTTLE. 


Fig.  213  is  regarded  by  Professor  O.  T.  Mason  as  one  of  the  most 
interesting  specimens  of  basketry  in  the  world.  It  is  the  carrying  frame 
and  net  of  the  Mohave  Indians,  of  the  Yuman  stock,  dwelling  about 
the  mouth  of  the  Colorado  River  in  Arizona.  They  live  largely  upon 
the  mesquite  bean,  which  they  gather,  pod  and  all,  and  grind  for  bread. 
Two  poles  eight  feet  long  bent  in  the  form  of  an  ox-bow  and  crossing 
each  other  at  right  angles  form  the  ground  work.  These  are  held  in 
place  by  lashing  at  the  bottom  and  by  a  hoop  at  the  top.  Four  or  five 
strong  twines  of  agave  fibre  pass  from  the  hoop  above  to  the  bottom 
of  the  framework  between  each  pair  of  uprights.  These  and  the  up 
rights  constitute  the  warp.  The  weft  is  a  new  type  of  Indian  textile  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  called  "wrapped"  weaving,  and  which  is  fully  illus 
trated  in  Fig.  214.  A  single  twine  is  coiled  round  and  round  the  frame, 
making  mcs'lies  into  the  warp  half  an  inch  wide.  Every  time  this  weft 
passes  the  waip  strings  or  poles,  it  is  simply  wrapped  once  around. 
The  roughness  of  the  agave  fibre  holds  the  warp  from  slipping  and 


1 62 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


preserves  a  tolerably  uniform  mesh.  Foster  in  his  "Prehistoric  Races" 
describes  the  finding  of  cloth  in  a  mound  in  Butler  County,  Ohio,  and 
figures  a  specimen  in  which  the  twines  are  wrapped  in  the  same  manner. 
The  head  band  is  a  rag  tied  to  two  of  the  upright  sticks.  Somewhat 
similar  in  weave  and  material  to  the  rude  Hopi  work  above  described 
is  Fig.  215  which  is  a  carrying  basket  used  on  the  French  Congo.  In 
this  specimen  the  common  wicker  work  is  used ;  that  is,  a  rigid  warp 
and  a  flexible  filling. 

The  kathak,  or  carrying  basket  of  the  Havasupais  is  well  shown  in 
the  engraving,  Fig.  i.  This  kathak  is  woven  in  the  same  style  as  the 
water  bottles  of  the  Havasupais,  and  from  the  horse  hair  loops  a  broad 
carrying  band  of  strong  raw  hide  is  brought  across  the  forehead.  This 
method  of  carrying  is  common  with  all  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  south 
west.  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  are  two  loops  or  "lugs."  The  carry- 


PIG.  218. 
HAVASUPAI  BOILING   BASKET. 


FIGS.    219,    220,    221. 

MANUFACTURE    OF   SPIRALLY 

COILED    WEAVES. 


ing  band  goes  from  the  one  on  the  left  around  the  head  to  the  one  on  the 
right,  and  thus  the  kathak  is  held  steadily  and  kept  from  swinging  to 
and  fro  as  would  be  the  case  if  but  one  lug  were  used. 

Most  of  the  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  tribes,  having  to  travel  over 
long  stretches  of  almost  waterless  desert,  use  water  bottles  made  of 
basketry.  These  are  manufactured  by  the  Havasupais,  Zunis,  and  the 
Paiutis  of  Nevada  and  Utah.  Those  of  which  Fig.  216  is  a  type  are 
generally  made  at  Zuni.  One  of  the  most  valued  water  bottles  of  my 
collection  is  a  very  old  one,  made  and  purchased  at  Zuni. 

Fig.  217  is  a  water  bottle  basket,  originally  labeled  by  Dr.  James 
Stevens  in  the  National  Museum  as  a  Walpi  basket.  But  though  pur 
chased  at  the  Hopi  village  of  Walpi  this  style  of  basket  bottle  is  made 
by  the  Paiutis  and  by  them  traded  to  the  Hopi,  the  Navahoes,  and 
through  the  latter,  to  the  Apaches.  This  is  the  most  common  form  of 
water  bottle  found  in  Arizona.  The  weave  is  coarse  Kuf  firm  and 
strong,  and  being  heavily  coated  inside  and  out  with  pinion  gum  it  is 
both  water  tight  and  durable.  I  have  a  large  number  of  these  Paiuti 


SOME    USES    OP    INDIAN    BASKETS. 


i63 


water  bottles  in  my  collection,  of  all  sizes,  from  a  pint  to  three  gallons. 
What  a  series  of  problems  confronted  the  prehistoric  woman,  when 
she  first  began  to  learn  the  properties  of  fire.  The  roasting  of  flesh  was 
comparatively  easy,  but  how  was  she  to  make  water  hot,  cook  the 
fluid  foods  she  had  already  learned  to  make.  She  invented  the  boiling 


FIG.  222. 

Method  of  Making  Havasupai  Water  Bottles. 

basket,  into  which,  after  pouring  her  liquid,  uncooked  food,  she 
dropped  heated  rocks,  and  thus  conveyed  fire  into  her  pot,  instead  of 
her  pot  to  the  fire. 

Some  of  the  Havasupais  still  use  the  boiling  basket,  and  only  as 
late  as  1899  I  had  the  pleasure  of  eating  delicious  green  corn  mush 


FIGS.    223-224. 
PUEBLO    INDIAN    CARRYING    MATS. 


FIG.  225. 

PUEBLO   INDIAN  USING 
CARRYING   MAT. 


cooked  in  this  ancient  fashion.  One  of  these  baskets  is  shown  in  Fig. 
218.  It  is  bottle  shaped,  and  on  its  neck  two  loops  are  woven,  from 
which  depends  a  rawhide  strap  handle. 

Gushing  thus  describes  the  method  followed  in  weaving  these  bas 
kets,  and  it  is  a  clear  description  of  most  coiled  weave.     "In  the  manu- 


1 64 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


SOME    USES    OP    INDIAN    BASKETS.  165 

facture  of  the  boiling  baskets,  which  are  good  examples  of  the  helix 
or  spirally  coiled  type  of  basket,  the  beginning  was  made  at  the  center 
of  the  bottom.  A  small  wisp  of  fine  flexible  grass  stems  or  osiers 
softened  in  water  was  first  spirally  wrapped  a  little  at  one  end  with  a 
flat,  limber  splint  of  tough  wood,  usually  willow  (see  Fig.  219).  This 
wrapped  portion  was  then  wound  upon  itself,  the  outer  coil  thus  formed 
(Fig.  220)  being  firmly  fastened  as  it  progressed  to  the  one  already  made 
by  passing  the  splint  wrapping  of  the  wisp  each  time  it  was  wound 
around  the  latter  through  some  strands  of  the  contiguous  inner  coil, 
with  the  aid  of  a  bodkin.  (Fig.  221.)  The  bottom  was  rounded  up 
ward  and  the  sides  were  made  by  coiling  the  wisp  higher  and  higher, 
first  outward,  to  produce  the  bulge  of  the  vessel,  then  inward,  to  form 
the  tapering  upper  part  and  neck,  into  which  the  two  little  twigs  or 
splint-loops  were  firmly  woven."  See  (a)  Fig.  218. 


PIG.    221.     SAUCER-SHAPED  BASKET   (UNDOUBTEDLY  HAVASUPAI). 

Fig  222  shows  the  style  of  weave  followed  by  the  Havasupais  in 
making  their  basket  water  bottles.  The  warp  is  of  unpeeled  and  unsplit 
willows  of  a  thickness  to  correspond  to  the  size  the  bottle  is  intended  to 
be.  The  woof  filaments  are  sometimes  split  and  sometimes  not,  and 
either  peeled  or  unpeeled.  As  soon  as  the  bottle  nears  completion  in 
weaving,  it  is  covered  with  a  mixture  of  red  ochre  and  some  slightly 
oleagineous  substance,  just  as  painters  "prime"  a  building  they  are 

?oing  to  paint,  with  a  coating  of  a  mixture  of  oil,  ochre  and  white  lead. 
hen  it  is  covered  inside  and  out  with  pinion  gum  and  thus  becomes 
strong,  durable  and  perfectly  water  tight.     Such  bottles  last  for  many 
years  and  will  endure  all  kinds  of  hardships. 

An  annular  mat,  used  for  balancing  water  ollas  and  other  heavy 
and  convex  bottomed  vessels  on  the  head,  is  woven  by  all  the  Pueblo 
peoples  from  tl.e  coarse  fibres  of  the  yucca  (yucca  baccata).  The  fibres 
are  split  ant.  plaited  as  in  making  a  whip.  The  mats  assume  different 


1 66  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

shapes,  the  two  most  comon  being  shown  in  Figs.  223  and  224.  Just 
as  the  Irish  milkmaid  catches  up  a  kerchief  or  cloth  and  by  a  quirk 
or  two  converts  it  into  a  ring  or  crown  which  she  places  on  her  head 
before  setting  thereon  the  brimming  pail,  so  the  Pueblo  Indian  throws 
upon  her  head  one  of  these  mats  before  lifting  thereupon  the  heavy 
food-bowl  or  heavier  water  olla.  The  same  ring  serves  also  in  keeping 
the  jar  upright  on  the  floor  of  her  room.  Coronado  (1540)  wrote  to 
the  Viceroy  in  Mexico :  "I  send  your  lordship  two  rolles  which  the 
women  in  these  parts  are  woont  to  weare  on  their  heads  when  they 
fetch  water  from  their  wells,  as  we  used  to  do  in  Spain ;  and  one  of 
these  Indian  women  with  one  of  these  rolles  on  her  head  will  carry  a 
pitcher  of  water,  without  touching  the  same,  up  a  lather."  The  method 
of  using-  them  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  225. 


FIG.    228.     HANDSOMELY    ORNAMENTED   APACHE    BASKET  BOWL. 

The  flat  saucer  shaped  baskets  of  the  Pimas,  Maricopas,  Apaches, 
Havasupais  and  many  others  show  undoubtedly  one  of  the  first  of 
all  basketry  forms.  As  the  artistic  faculty  increased  in  power,  prac 
tice  brought  increased  dexterity  and  skill,  and  some  of  the  baskets  made 
before  the  decadence  of  the  art,  (which  began  with  the  advent  of  the 
Spaniards)  are  exquisitely  beautiful  in  the  perfection  of  their  weave 
and  truly  artistic  in  their  designs. 

Figs.  227  and  228  might  have  been  made  by  any  of  the  people  above 
named,  although  from  the  finishing  border  I  incline  to  the  belief  that 
227  is  not  an  Apache,  as  suggested  by  Dr.  Stevenson,  but  either  a 
Paiuti  or  a  Havasupai.  The  Apache  and  Pima  baskets  of  finest  weave, 
made  to-day,  are  generally  finished  off  with  a  fine  o^erwrapping 
stitch  as  shown  in  228.  The  plaited  stitch  as  I  have  bef  "re  described 


SOME    USES    OF    INDIAN    BASKETS. 


107 


of  227  is  common  to  Navahoes,  Havasupais  and  Paiutis.  In  an  ex 
amination  of  scores  of  Apache  baskets,  including  the  fine  collection  at 
the  Museum  of  Natural  History,  and  those  in  the  National  Museum 
I  have  found  but  one  that  is  not  finished  off  by  the  overlapping  simple 
coil  stitch.  And  that  one  though  labeled  an  Apache  and  obtained 
on  the  Apache  reservation  is  unquestionably  a  Havasupai  brought 
there  by  trading  or  capture. 

Murdoch  found  among  the  Point  Barrow  Eskimo  small  work-baskets 
(aguma,  ama,  ipiaru,  as  they  call  them),  of  which  Figs.  229  and  230 
serve  as  types.  The  neck  of  Fig.  229  is  of  tanned  sealskin,  2^ 
inches  long,  and  has  one  vertical  seam,  to  the  middle  of  which  is  sewed 
the  middle  of  a  piece  of  fine  seal  thong  a  foot  long,  which  serves  to  tie 
up  the  mouth.  The  basket  appears  to  be  made  of  fine  twigs  or  roots 


FIGS.    229,    230.     BASKETS    OF    ATHAPASCAN    STOCK 
FOUND  AT   POINT   BARROW. 

of  the  willow,  with  the  bark  removed,  and  is  made  by  winding  an 
osier  spirally  into  the  shape  of  the  basket,  and  wrapping  a  narrow  splint 
spirally  around  the  two  adjacent  parts  of  this,  each  turn  of  the  splint 
being  separated  from  the  next  by  a  turn  of  the  succeeding  tier. 

Fig.  230  was  obtained  from  Sidaru,  a  small  Eskimo  village  near  Point 
Belcher.  The  weave  of  both  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Apaches,  and,  as 
the  owner  of  Fig.  229  said  it  came  from  the  "great  river"  of  the 
South,  Murdoch  concludes  that  they  were  made  by  the  Indians  of  the 
region  between  the  Koynkuk  and  Silawik  Rivers,  who  are  of  the  Tinne 
or  Athapascan  family,  to  which,  also,  the  Apaches  belong.  They  un 
doubtedly  reached  Point  Barrow  through  channels  of  trade  or  barter. 


1 68 


INDIAN    BASKETKY. 


VARIOUS   INDIAN    BASKETS.  IO9 

CHAPTER  XI. 
VARIOUS    INDIAN    BASKETS. 

A  strictly  rigid  adherence  to  the  various  heads  of  the  preceding 
chapters  has  been  impossible,  as  the  subjects  are  so  inseparably  con 
nected.  But  as  far  as  possible  I  have  sought  to  elucidate  each  branch 
of  the  subject.  The  following  pages  illustrate  various  types  and  weaves 
of  basket.  They  will  help  the  collector  and  student  to  a  fuller  know 
ledge  of  the  work  of  the  different  peoples.  Many  of  the  descriptions 
are  given  verbatim  from  Professor  O.  T.  Mason's  report. 


FIG.    232.     KLAMATH    TWINED    BASKET. 

Fig.  232  is  a  twined  or  plaited  flexible  basket  of  the  Klamaths,  made 
of  rushes  and  straw.  The  management  of  the  material  is  precisely  as  in 
wallets  made  by  the  Eskimo.  The  three  elevated  bands  upon  the  out 
side  are  formed  by  rows  of  twine  set  on  externally.  The  border  in  this 
case  is  formed  by  binding  down  the  warp  straws  and  sewing  them  fast 
with  traders'  twine.  By  twining  a  dark  and  a  light  colored  straw,  two 
dark  or  two  light  straws,  and  by  varying  the  number  of  these  mono 
chrome  or  dichrome  twines,  very  pleasing  effects  in  endless  variety 
are  produced. 


17°  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

Fig.  233  is  one  square  inch  of  Fig.  232,  showing  the  appearance  of 
the  body  weaving  above  and  of  the  ornamental  twining  below. 

Fig.  234  is  one  of  the  coiled  and  whipped  baskets  of  the  Hoochnoms, 
and  was  collected  at  Eel  River,  California,  in  1876.  It  is  made  of  thin 
strips  peeled  from  one  of  the  roots  found  in  the  region.  The  bottom  is 
started  upon  a  small,  flat  Turk's-head  knot  or  splint  y&  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  continued  in  a  plane  outward  4  inches  in  diameter  before 
any  ornament  is  attempted.  The  coils  are  %  inch  in  cross-section  and 
there  are  twenty  stitches  to  the  inch.  There  are  three  pairs  of  the  orna 
ment  on  the  exterior  all  alike.  The  harmony  of  geometric  design  pro 
duced  by  inverting  the  triangles  on  the  alternate  sides  is  much  more 
expressive  in  the  specimen  where  the  brown-black  ornament  is  in  con 
trast  with  the  dark  wood  color  of  the  body. 


FIG.  233.  FIG.  235. 

ONE  SQUARE  INCH  OF  FIG.  222.        ONE  SQUARE  INCH  OF  FIG.  234. 

Fig.  235  is  one  square  inch  of  Fig.  234,  showing  the  method  of 
coiling  with  various  colored  splints.  The  weave  of  this  basket  and  its 
general  appearance  is  much  like  Fig.  56,  fine,  smooth,  even  and  beauti 
ful. 

Fig.  236  is  the  inside  of  a  Yokut  bowl,  one  of  the  finest  baskets  in 
existence.  It  is  a  truncated  cone,  sixteen  and  a  half  inches  wide  and 
seven  and  a  half  inches  deep.  It  was  collected  by  the  eminent  ethnolog 
ist,  Stephen  Powers,  in  1875,  in  California,  and  now  holds  an  honored 
place  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  The  bottom  is  plain  and  flat, 
bounded  by  a  black  line.  The  body  color  is  that  of  pine  root  long  ex 
posed ;  the  ornaments  are  in  black,  straw  color,  and  brown.  To  under 
stand  this  complex  figure  we  must  begin  at  the  bottom,  where  five 
barred  parallelograms  surround  the  black  ring,  with  center  of  brown, 
and  generally  four  smaller  bars  of  white  and  black  alternating.  By  a 
series  of  steps  or  gradines  this  rectangular  ornament  is  carried  up  to 
the  dark  line  just  below  the  rim.  The  spaces  in  the  body  color,  at  first 
plain,  are  occupied  afterwards  by  open  crosses,  and  finally  by  human 
figures.  These  human  figures  are  excellent  illustrations  of  that  con 
straining  and  restraining  power  of  material  and  environment  so  ably 
discussed  by  Professor  Holmes  in  an  earlier  chapter.  There  are 
eight  coils  and  eighteen  stitches  to  the  inch  in  this  work. 


VARIOUS   INDIAN   BASKETS. 


FIG.  234.     HOOCHNOM  COILED  BASKET. 
COLLECTED  AT   EEL   RIVER,    CALIFORNIA. 


FIG.  236.     YOKUT  COILED  BASKET  BOWL. 


I72  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

Fig.  237  is  a  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Cahuillas.  The  coil  is  a  bundle 
of  yucca  or  other  fibre,  and  the  sewing  is  done  with  splints  of  reed 
cane,  chestnut  and  black.  The  lovely  cloudy  effects  produced  by  the 
ingenious  use  of  splints  of  different  natural  colors  resemble  those  on  the 
Hopi  sacred  meal  trays.  The  fastening  off  is  simple  coil  sewing.  The 
ornamentation  is  a  series  of  crosses  arranged  vertically  and  four  series 
of  rhomboids  inclosing  triangles. 

Fig  238  is  one  inch  of  Fig.  237,  showing  the  multiple  coil  and  the 
method  of  stitching. 

Fig.  239  presents  an  inside  view  of  Fig.  237.  The  black  line  at  the 
bottom,  nearly  continuous,  incloses  a  circle  in  uniform  unvarnished 
color.  All  the  body  color  above  this  line  is  of  a  shining  yellow,  varying 
in  shade.  The  disposition  of  the  ornament  is  better  shown  in  this 
illustration  than  the  preceding  one. 


FIG.  238.     ONE  SQUARE  INCH  OF  FIG.  237. 

Fig  240  is  a  similarly  made  basket  of  the  Cahuillas,  in  which  the 
shading  of  the  body  material  is,  in  places,  very  dark.  The  methods  of 
making  these  colored  splints  is  fully  explained  in  the  chapter  on  color. 
The  zig-zag  ornaments,  an  imitative  representation  of  arrow  points, 
are  very  effective. 

Fig.  241  is  a  jar-shaped  coiled  basket  from  the  Zuni  Indians  of  New 
Mexico.  This  is  a  very  beautiful  specimen  of  coiled  ware  for  this 
region,  in  shape,  regularity  of  stitch,  and  ornamentation  in  black.  It 
is  a  common  saying  among  true  experts  that  the  pottery-making  In 
dians  are  not  good  basket-makers.  There  is  no  doubt  that  this  state 
ments  is  broadly  true.  Professor  Mason  suggests  that  this  basket 
"looks  as  though  it  might  have  come  from  California."  It  may  have 
come  from  the  Apaches,  for  in  shape,  ornamentation,  and,  especially  in 
the  use  of  the  strip  of  fibre  for  ''chinking"  as  seen  in  Fig.  242,  it  re 
minds  one  of  the  work  of  these  accomplished  basket-makers. 

Fig.  242  is  a  square  inch  of  Fig.  241,  showing  the  use  of  the  chink 
ing  fibre  and  the  alternation  of  white  and  black  stitches. 

Fig.  243  is  a  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Pimas,  built  on  yucca  fibre 
and  sewed  with  rhus  or  willow.  The  ornamentation  is  -n  red  paint  and 
splints  dyed  black.  The  border  is  back  and  forward  sewing  to  imitate 
a  braid.  Its  depth  is  3  inches. 


VARIOUS   INDIAN    BASKETS. 


173 


FIG.    237.     CAHUILLA    BASKET    BOWL.      SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA. 


FIG.    241.     COILED   BASKET    JAR    SECURED    FROM   THE    ZUNIS, 
NEW   MEXICO. 


174 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIG.    239.     INSIDE    VIEW    OF    FIG.    237. 


FIG.  240.     A  CAHULLA  BASKET  BOWL. 
A  REPRESENTATION  OF  ARROW  POINTS  IN  THE  DESIGN 


VARIOUS   INDIAN    BASKETS. 


175 


Fig.  244  is  a  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Pimas,  made  up  on  a  founda 
tion  of  yucca,  the  sewing  done  with  splints  of  willow  or  pine.  The 
ornamentation  is  rude,  but  exceedingly  interesting.  On  showing  it  to 
a  Pima  Shaman  he  affirmed  that  it  was  made  by  a  woman  who  had 
visited  a  family  of  the  Antelope  fraternity  in  one  of  the  Hopi  towns, 
and  that  this  was  her  attempt  to  reproduce  the  male  and  female  light 
ning  symbols  of  that  fraternity.  The  male  symbols  have  reached  and 
penetrated  the  earth,  represented  by  the  interior  dark  circle,  and  have 
thereby  brought  the  fire  of  the  sun  down  to  the  haunts  of  men. 

Fig.  245  is  a  coiled  Pima  basket  bowl,  similar  in  structure  to  Fig. 
244.  The  grecque  ornament  is  worked  in  with  tolerable  symmetry. 
The  border  has  the  braided  appearance  before  mentioned  and  quite 
commonly  met  with  on  Pima  baskets,  given  by  forward  and  backward 
sewing  along  the  border  with  a  single  splint.  In  this  instance  the  stitch 
passes  backward  three  stitches  of  the  sewing  each  time.  This  is  ingen 
ious  and  effective  work. 


FIG.    242. 


ONE    SQUARE    INCH 
OF  FIG.  241. 


FIG.  245.     PIMA  BASKET  WITH 
GREEK  DESIGN. 


Fig.  246  is  a  coiled  bowl  of  the  Apaches,  inside  view,  made  upon  a 
single  twig.  The  apparently  unsystematic  ornament  is  indeed  very 
regular.  Four  lines  of  black  sewing  of  different  lengths  proceed  from 
the  black  ring  of  the  center.  From  the  end  of  all  these  lines  sewing 
is  carried  to  the  left  in  regular  curves.  Then  the  four  radiating  lines 
are  repeated,  and  the  curved  lines,  until  the  border  is  reached.  This 
is  a  distinct  variant  of  the  Swastika,  about  which  Dr.  Wilson  has  writ 
ten  so  learnedly,  exhaustively  and  interestingly.  Yet  to  the  Pima 
woman  it  was  merely  a  conventionalized  representation  of  a  lake  with 
water  flowing  from  it  in  different  directions. 

Fig.  247  is  an  inside  view  of  one  of  the  coiled  osier  basket  bowls  of 
the  Garotero  Apaches.  In  every  respect  of  weave  and  style  it  resembles 
Fig.  246.  The  inclosed  triangles  alternating  with  urn  patterns  consti 
tute  the  ornamentation.  These  are  conventionalized  representations  of 
stone  battle  hammers  and  arrow  points. 

Fig.  248  is  a  small  coiled  basket  bowl  of  the  Paiutis  of  Southern 
Utah  and  Nevada,  made  by  coiling  a  splint  and  thin  strip  of  yucca, 


176 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIG.    244.     PIMA    BASKET,    WITH    MALE 
AND   FEMALE   LIGHTNING   SYMBOLS. 


FIG.    243.     PIMA    COILED    BASKET    BOWL. 


VARIOUS   INDIAN    BASKETS. 


177 


FIG.    246. 

APACHE   COILED   BASKET 
BOWL. 


FIG.  247. 

BASKET  BOWL  OF  THE 
GAROTERO  APACHES. 


FIG.    248. 

PAIUTI    COILED   MUSH 
BASKET. 


178 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


bast,  or  osier,  and  whipping  them  with  split  osier.  The  sewing  passes 
over  the  two  elements  of  the  coil  in  progress  and  through  the  upper 
element  of  the  coil  below,  looping  always  under  the  subjacent  stitches. 
Ornamentation  is  produced  by  working  into  the  fabric  triangles  with 
strips  of  martynia  or  dyed  splints.  The  work  is  very  regular  and  the 
texture  water-tight.  The  design  represents  butterflies. 

Fig.  249  is  a  similarly  woven  basket.  It  is  founded  upon  a  wooden 
plug  in  the  center  and  coiled  by  means  of  an  osier  and  a  strip  of 
fibre.  Its  depth  is  2,^/2  inches.  The  work  is  neatly  done,  and  there  is 
some  resemblance  in  its  ornamentation  to  Fig.  248,  yet  the  steps  repre 
sent  rain  clouds. 

These  baskets  (Figs.  248  and  249)  are  made  in  the  same  style  and 
by  the  same  people — the  Paiutis — as  the  so-called  wedding  baskets  of 
the  Navahoes,  or  medicine  baskets  of  the  Apaches,  the  ornamentation 
being  the  only  difference. 


FIG.  251.  ONE  SQUARE 
INCH  OF  FIG.  250. 


FIG.  249.  PAIUTI  BASKET. 


Fig.  250  is  a  twined  basket  hat  of  the  Utes  or  Paiutis  of  Southern 
Utah,  used  by  the  women  either  as  a  hat  or  a  basket.  The  California 
women  make  hats  of  a  somewhat  similar  pattern,  but  much  finer.  The 
warp  twigs  converge  at  the  bottom  and  additional  ones  are  added  as 
the  texture  widens.  The  weft  splints  are  carried  around  in  pairs  and 
twined  so  as  to  inclose  a  pair  of  vertical  twigs,  producing  a  twilled 
effect  something  like  that  of  the  softer  ware  of  the  Haidas  and  Clallams. 
The  border  of  this  twined  basket  is  very  ingeniously  made.  First,  the 
projecting  warp  sticks  were  bent  down  and  whipped  with  splints  to 
form  the  body  of  the  rim.  Then  with  two  splints  the  weaver  sewed 
along  the  upper  margin,  catching  these  splints  alternately  into  the  warp 
straws  below,  giving  the  work  the  appearance  of  a  button  hole  stitch. 
The  ornamentation  is  produced  by  means  of  dyed  twigs  either  alone 
or  combined  with  those  of  natural  color. 

The  texture  of  this  hat  is  coarse  and  rigid,  not  because  the  Utes  can 
not  obtain  better  material,  as  has  been  suggested  elsewhere,  for,  now 
and  again,  they  make  baskets  as  fine  as  the  ordinary  ware  of  the 


VARIOUS  INDIAN  BASKETS.  179 

Yokuts  and  Pomas.  But  they  are  lazy  and  indifferent  generally,  and 
a  coarse  hat  is  as  good  for  their  purpose  as  a  finer  one. 

Fig.  251  is  one  square  inch  of  Fig.  250,  showing  the  method  of  weav 
ing  and  administering  the  colored  splints. 

Fig.  252  is  a  twined  roasting  tray  of  the  Paiutis.  The  warp  is  a  lot 
of  osiers  spread  out  like  a  fan.  The  weaving  begins  at  the  bottom  by 
short  curves,  and  progresses  by  ever  widening  curves  to  the  outer 
margin.  The  rim  is  made  by  a  double  row  of  the  coiled  and  whipped 
work.  The  whole  surface  is  very  rough,  as  in  all  common  Paiuti  work, 
by  reason  of  not  twisting  the  strands  when  making  the  twine.  There 
is  little  or  no  attempt  at  ornamentation  on  this  class  of  objects. 

Fig.  253  is  a  gathering  and  carrying  basket  of  the  same  people. 
It  is  woven  precisely  as  the  hat,  Fig.  250,  and  the  roasting  tray,  Fig. 
252.  The  splints  are  very  fine,  but  their  refractory  nature  makes  the 
ware  coarse.  Ornamentation  is  produced  by  external  twining  and 
by  geometric  patterns  in  dyed  splints.  One  Paiuti  woman  told  me  that 
this  design  was  made  long,  long  ago  by  her  mother,  as  she  sat  near 


FIG.   250.     UTE   BASKET  HAT. 

where  her  husband  was  making  arrow  points,  and  that  the  triangles 
are  simply  these  points  arranged  together  in  rows  of  three.  Another 
woman  said  the  design  was  of  the  mescal  plant  from  which  they  obtain 
one  of  their  principal  articles  of  diet. 

Fig.  254  is  a  harvesting  wand  of  the  Paiutis,  made  of  twigs  split  or 
whole,  bound  with  yucca  fibre.  It  is  a  very  coarse  piece  of  work,  and 
yet  a  necessary  and  useful  article.  The  seeds  are  struck  with  this  wand 
into  a  carrying  basket,  or  Kathak,  Fig.  253,  and  then  taken  home  to 
foe  roasted,  ground  or  stored  away  for  winter  use. 

Fig.  255  is  of  varied  work  of  the  Makah  Indians,  of  the  Nutka 
stock.  While  this  weave  is  a  very  simple  and  primitive  one,  it  is  capable 
of  most  delicate  treatment,  and  produces  exquisite  results.  It  may 
be  called  the  "fish-trap"  style,  as  it  is  undoubtedly  the  lineal  descend- 
.ant  of  the  rude  wicker  fish-trap. 

Figs.  256-7-8  are  of  the  bottle  covered  with  basket  work  shown  in 
Fig.  255.  The  ground  work  is  of  bast  and  the  ornamentation  of  red, 
-yellow  and  black  straws  sewed  on  singly  after  the  Makah  fashion. 


i8o 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIG.  252.     TWINED  ROASTING  TRAY  OF  THE  PAIUT  IS. 


FIG.  253.     PAIUTI  CARRYING  BASKET. 


VARIOUS  INDIAN   BASKETS. 


181 


Great  numbers  of  these  covered  bottles  and  other  fanciful  forms  are 
prepared  for  sale  by  the  Makahs  as  well  as  by  the  Haidas,  whose  work 
is  similar  in  external  appearance,  but  not  in  the  method  of  weaving. 

Fig.  257  shows  the  bottom  of  Fig.  256,  with  the  radiated  warp  and 
the  alternation  of  twined  weft  with  the  ordinary  in  and  out  weaving. 

Fig.  258  is  a  portion  of  the  side  of  the  bottle,  showing  the  lattice 
arrangement  of  the  warp,  and  the  twined  weft,  producing  irregular 


FIG.   254.     HARVESTING  WAND   OF    PAIUTIS. 

hexagons.  This  method  of  producing  polygonal  meshes,  excepting  the 
twined  weft,  is  pursued  in  great  variety  and  with  excellent  effect  by  the 
Japanese  and  other  oriental  peoples. 

Fig.  259  is  the  celebrated  "bird-cage"  weave  of  the  Makahs.  It  is  a 
very  simple  stitch,  but  exceedingly  effective  and  pretty.  It  is  also  used 
largely  by  the  Clallam  Indians  of  the  Salish  stock  in  Washington. 


.   i 


FIG.  255.     MAKAH  BASKETRY. 


182 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


FIGS.     256-7-8.     BASKETRY     AROUND     BOTTLE.       MAKAH  WEAVE. 


VARIOUS   INDIAN    BASKETS.  13 

I 

Fig.  260  is  a  carrying  basket  of  this  latter  people.  The  framework  is 
a  rectangle  of  large  twigs  from  the  corners  of  which  depend  four  twigs, 
joining  as  shown  in  the  figure.  To  this  framework  are  lashed  smaller 
rods  running  horizontally  and  vertically,  making  a  lattice-work  with 
any  desirable  size  of  meshes.  Finally,  spruce-root  splints  are  coiled 
around  the  crossings  of  these  lattice-rods.  In  this  particular  example 
the  coiling  is  not  continuously  around  the  basket,  but  on  each  side 
separately  in  boustrophedon,  but  in  the  pretty  Makah  baskets,  woven  in 
this  style,  the  coiled  thread  continues  around  without  break  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  work.  The  handles  for  the  attachment  of  the 
head-strap  are  loops  of  spruce-root  cord  set  on  at  the  corners. 

Fig.  261  is  one  square  inch  of  Fig.  260  and  shows  the  exact  disposi 
tion  of  the  weave. 

Fig.  262  is  a  fine  specimen  from  the  Makahs.     It  includes  the 
three  distinct  types,  viz. :  the  plain  checker  weaving  of  the  Bilhoolas, 
as     shown     in     Fig.     263,    the    twined    pattern    so    fully    described 


FIG.    259.     CLALLAM   6lRD    CAGE 
WEAVE. 


FIG.    261. 


ONE   SQUARE    INCH   OF 
FIG.  260. 


elsewhere,  and  also  pictured  in  Fig.  263,  and  lastly,  the  bird-cage  pat 
tern  of  the  Makahs  and  Clallams,  illustrated  in  Fig.  249.  The  ornament 
ation  on  this  class  of  baskets,  as  on  the  commercial  baskets  of  the 
Haidas,  consists  of  geometric  patterns  in  black,  yellow,  drab,  reds, 
blues,  etc.,  colors,  many  of  which  are  obtained  from  traders.  The 
straws  are  dyed  and  the  pattern  is  alike  on  both  sides. 

Interesting  as  a  rude  suggestion  of  this  bird-cage  basketry  pattern 
is  Fig.  264  of  a  rude  carrying  or  packing  basket  from  Angola,  Africa. 
The  bottom  is  made  in  form  of  a  mat  or  head  pad.  The  warp  is  a  series 
of  rods,  and  the  weft  is  in  twined  weaving,  common  in  Africa,  in  East 
ern  Asia,  and  in  the  Pacific  States  of  North  America,  north  of  the 
Pueblo  country. 

Fig.  265  is  a  rain  hat  of  twined  basketry  in  spruce-root,  from  the 
Haida  Indians,  reduced  to  less  than  one-eighth  linear.  This  is  the 
upper  view  and  shows  the  method  of  ornamentation  in  red  and  black 
paint.  The  device  is  an  epitomized  form  of  a  bird,  the  first  step  from 
pictures  toward  graphic  signs.  Omitting  the  red  cross  on  top,  the  beak, 
jaws  and  nostrils  are  shown  above ;  the  eyes  at  the  sides  near  the  top, 


i84 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


^l^n^^fiiffl^fefirvn^fr""^'''14^!!! 

frtliW*i»^ 

«!Mife^Ji&W^^ 


FIG.    ?60.     CLALLAM    CARRYING    BASKET. 


FIG.     262.     MAKAH    TRINKET    BASKET    OF    FINE   WEAVE. 


VARIOUS   INDIAN    BASKETS. 


1 85 


and  just  behind  them  the  symbol  for  ears.  The  wings,  feet,  and  tail, 
inclosing  a  human  face,  are  shown  on  the  margin.  The  H?ida,  as  well 
as  other  coast  Indians  from  Cape  Flattery  to  Mount  Saint  Elias,  cover 
everything  of  use  with  totemic  devices  in  painting  and  carving. 


FIG.    263. 


FIG.    264.     CARRYING    CRATE    FROM 
ANGOLA,  AFRICA. 


Fig.  266  shows  the  conical  shape  of  Fig.  265.  On  the  inside  a 
cylindrical  band  of  spruce-root  is  stitched  on  so  as  to  make  the  hat  fit 
the  wearer's  head.  A  string  passed  under  the  chin  is  frequently  added. 

Fig.  267  shows  the  top  of  this  basket  hat  before  painting,  with 
radiating  warp,  twined  weft,  and  an  external  twine  on  its  outer  bound 
ary. 


FIG.    265.      HIGHLY   ORNAMENTED 
HAIDA   HAT. 


FIG. 


BASKET.      USED    IN    DICE    GAMES. 


In  the  dice  games  of  the  Arapaho  and  other  tribes,  a  basket  is  an 
essential  implement.  The  players  toss  up  the  dice  from  the  basket, 
letting  them  drop  again  into  it,  and  score  points  according  to  the  way 


i86 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


the  dice  turn  up  in  the  basket.  The  first  throw  by  each  player  is  made 
from  the  hand  instead  of  from  the  basket.  One  hundred  points  usually 
count  a  game,  and  stakes  are  wagered  on  the  result  as  in  almost  every 
other  Indian  contest  of  skill  or  chance.  Figs.  268-269  are  baskets  thus 
used  in  dice  games.  The  dice  are  many  and  various.  Among  this  tribe 
they  are  bone  or  plum  stones.  Similar  baskets  and  dice  are  used  by 
all  tribes  throughout  the  West  and  on  the  Pacific  coast. 


FIG.    266. 


Fig.    267.    Haida    Hat.      TOD 
View    Before    Painting-. 


Figs.  104  and  231  are  of  a  large  Pauma  basket,  used  as  a  granary. 
These  immense  baskets  have  long  been  in  use,  but  few  are  now  to  be 
found.  Outside  of  several  Cahuilla  homes  and  at  a  few  other  places 
in  Southern  California  may  be  seen  rude  baskets  used  as  acorn  store 
houses.  These  are  made,  however,  by  twining  bunches  of  willows, 
in  the  rudest  fashion,  and  not  by  any  processes  of  basket  weaving,  (see 
Fig.  169). 

In  Southern  California  the  Indians  used  to  make  a  basket 
church.  For  purposes  of  worship  a  circular  enclosure  was  made, 
tules  or  willows  being  woven  in  basket  form  somewhat  similar  to  the 
fences  or  enclosures  found  at  the  village  of  Saboba  to-day.  There  is 
still  one  of  these  rude  basketry  churches  in  use  at  the  Indian  village 
of  Santa  Ysabel  in  Southern  California. 


SYMBOLISM   OF   INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

CHAPTER   XII. 
SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

The  recent  researches  of  Fewkes  and  others  have  done  much  to 
further  our  knowledge  of  the  symbolism  of  aboriginal  art.  Holmes 
and  Gushing  long  ago  demonstrated  that  there  was  in  this  field  an 
almost  unlimited  fund  of  unexplored  treasure.  Little  by  little  we  are 
beginning  to  reap  the  harvest  of  fascinating  lore  and  myth  and  legend 
connected  with  the  designs  on  pottery,  basketry,  shields,  and  masks, 
etc. 

As  yet  basketry  symbolism  has  not  had  its  share  of  study.  In  fact, 
as  far  as  I  know,  the  only  articles  published  upon  the  subject  that  have 
any  value  are  four,  one  by  Dr.  Livingstone  Farrand,  of  Columbia  Uni 
versity,  New  York,  on  the  "Basketry  Designs  of  the  Safish  Indians ;" 
one  by  Roland  B.  Dixon  in  the  American  Anthropologist  on  "The 
Basketry  Designs  of  the  Maidu  Indians,"  and  two  by  myself,  one  in  the 
Traveler  of  San  Francisco,  Cal,  on  "Indian  Basketry  and  its  Symbol 
ism,"  and  the  other  in  The  Evening  Lamp,  of  Chicago,  entitled  "Poems 
in  Baskets." 

Hence  it  will  be  seen  that  hitherto  there  have  been  but  few  attempts 
made  to  penetrate  the  reserve  of  the  Indian  as  to  the  meaning  of  her 
basketry  designs.  It  is  not  easy  work,  and  there  are  but  tew  fitted  to  do 
it.  One  may  live  with  an  Indian  basket  maker  for  years  and  never 
even  know  that  she  attaches  any  meaning  to  the  designs  she  incorpor 
ates  into  her  work. 

The  meaning  and  symbolism  of  the  designs  on  baskets  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  fascinating  and  important  branches  of  the  study, 
although  there  are  those  who  emphatically  deny  that  symbolism  has  any 
place  in  the  basketry  ornamentation  of  the  Amerind.  But  these  persons 
certainly  know  little  of  either  the  Indian  or  his  methods  of  work.  To 
all  who  know  him  the  Indian  is  remarkable  for  his  poetic  conception 
and  equally  so  for  his  intense  reticence  in  regard  to  his  inner  thoughts. 
Imagery,  symbolism  and  the  picturing  of  what  he  sees  are  habits  of 
his  daily  life. 

That  casual  observers  often  arrive  at  erroneous  conclusions  as  to 
this  and  kindred  matters  all  ethnologists  and  archaeologists  well  know. 
For  instance :  Not  long  ago  I  was  visiting  a  tribe  of  Indians  and 
called  upon  a  lady  physician,  who,  formerly  in  the  Indian  service,  had 
lived  with  this  tribe  in  the  capacities  of  both  teacher  and  physician. 
When  I  asked  her  if  she  knew  anything  of  the  symbolism  of  their  bas 
ketry,  she  said :  "No !"  and  assured  me  that  they  attached  no  meaning, 
and  had  no  thoughts  connected  with  the  designs  they  incorporated 
into  their  work.  At  the  conclusion  of  my  all  too  brief  researches,  when 
I  read  over  to  her  what  I  had  learned,  she  confessed  that  my  discover 
ies  were  a  revelation  to  her  and  that  never  once  had  a  single  Indian 
spoken  to  her  upon  the  subject,  though  she  was  familar  with  their 
language,  was  most  kindly  received  by  them  and  always  welcomed  to 
their  homes. 


i88 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


PIG.  270.    HEART   SHAPED,   BOTTLE-NECK  BASKET 
OF  THE  TOKUTS.     McLEOD  COLLECTION. 


FIG.     271.    THREE    BASKETS    DEPICTING    HUMAN 
FIGURES.     PLIMPTON     COLLECTION. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  I9 

On  this  subject  Charles  Milton  Buchanan  writes :  "The  pattern  is 
run  at  the  fancy  of  the  maker.  Sometimes  the  basket  maker  will  possess 
her  own  peculiar  designs  and  patterns,  which  may  be  recognized  any 
where  by  her  tribesmen  familiar  with  her  work,  and  they  serve  the 
purpose  of  a  hall  mark,  revealing  at  once  the  identity  of  the  maker. 
Many  of  their  patterns  involve  the  Greek  fret,  pure  and  simple,  as  well 
as  countless  variations  worked  upon  this  self-same  theme.  Then  again 
the  barbaric  basket  maker  will  attempt  to  mimic  nature  with  cherry 
trees,  ferns,  star-fish,  fir-trees,  and  a  thousand  and  one  objects  common 
to  their  every  day  life." 

The  Rev.  W.  C.  Curtis  thus  writes  me  upon  this  subject,  referring 
particularly  to  the  work  of  the  Klickitats  and  Wascos :  "The  ornament 
ation  for  the  most  part — as  in  all  the  North-west  baskets — is  conven 
tional  ;  though  I  have  Klickitat  baskets  with  men  and  horses  pictured 
upon  them,  also  other  baskets  which  depart  from  the  characteristic  de 
sign  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  unique.  In  the  Wascos,  besides  the 
conventional  designs,  (which  possibly  originated  in  the  desire  to  imitate 
waves,  mountains  and  trees  on  mountains,  caves,  etc.,)  representa 
tions  of  fish,  birds,  dogs,  foxes  (wolves  or  coyotes),  deer,  frogs,  men 
and  women  are  prominent.  Many  of  their  patterns  are  purely  arbit 
rary,  I  think,  from  the  beginning,  and  true  knowledge  is  not  served 
by  trying  to  read  into  them  meaning  which  the  makers  never  thought 
of." 

The  only  reliable  method  of  determining  the  meaning  of  a  basketry 
design  is  to  obtain  a  clear  explanation  from  its  maker.  And  this  must 
be  done  cautiously.  With  her  habitual  reserve  and  fear  of  being 
laughed  at  by  the  whites,  the  Indian  woman  is  exceedingly  suscept 
ible  to  suggestion.  If  you  ask 'her  whether  her  design  does  not  mean 
this  or  that,  you  may  with  certainty  rely  upon  what  the  answer  will  be 
before  it  is  given.  She  will  respond  with  a  grunt  or  word  of  affirmation, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  laugh  within  herself  at  the  folly  of  the  questioner. 
For,  of  course,  she  is  "smart"  enough  to  know  that  if  you  make  the 
suggestion  that  the  design  means  so  and  so,  she  will  be  safe  if  she 
accept  your  suggestion. 

If  the  basket  is  an  old  one  and  the  maker  be  dead,  one  must  be  con 
tent  to  receive  such  explanation  as  the  older  members  of  the  tribe  can 
give  as  to  the  interpretation  of  its  design.  Yet  it  must  not  be  over 
looked  that  the  observations  of  experienced  ethnologists  insist  that 
these  explanations  cannot  be  relied  upon.,  On  this  subject  Farrand 
says :  "It  should  be  noted  that  most  of  the 'designs  show  variants,  and 
also  that  what  were  originally  representations  of  very  dissimilar  objects 
have  converged  in  their  evolution  until  the  same  figure  does  duty  for 
both, — conditions  which  result  in  uncertainty  and  difference  of  opinion 
among  native  connoisseurs,  and  consequently,  in  the  conclusions  of 
the  ethnologist.  Nevertheless,  the  great  majority  of  the  patterns  are 
well  recognized  under  specific  names.  There  are,  of  course,  geometric 
designs  which,  so  far  as  all  obtainable  information  goes,  are  used 
simply  for  the  decorative  value  of  their  lines  and  angles ;  but  such 
patterns  are  usually  of  great  age,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  their 
representative  meaning  is  lost  in  antiquity  or  has  only  baffled  the 
diligence  of  the  inquirer.  The  well-known  conservatism  of  the  Indian 
insures  the  relative  permanence  of  a  design,  even  when  its  meaning 
is  not  recognized." 


190 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  IQ1 

He  then  goes  on  to  state  that  a  Quinaielt  basket  bore  a  certain  de 
sign,  a  favorite  pattern  in  the  tribe,  but  not  the  slightest  clue  to  its 
meaning  could  be  obtained.  Its  name  signifies  "standing  in  the  corners 
of  the  house,"  and  refers  to  the  fact  that  in  the  old  days  large  baskets 
with  this  design  stood  in  the  corners  for  the  reception  of  household 
odds  and  ends.  All  informants  agreed  as  to  its  great  antiquity,  as  well 
as  to  the  fact  that  it  had  doubtless  had  a  meaning  at  one  time,  but  no 
amount  of  inquiry  could  discover  it. 

It  is  not  necessary  that,  in  this  chapter,  I  should  discuss  the  growth 
of  the  artistic  instinct  in  the  Indian,  or  attempt  to  show  when  and  how 
the  ideographic  art  began.  That  it  now  actually  exists  and  is  exerted 
in  the  ornamentation  of  baskets,  there  can  be  no  question,  but  I  must 
not,  for  one  moment,  be  supposed  to  affirm  that  all  ornamentation  is 
distinctly  and  positively  ideographic.  In  his  admirable  way,  Dr. 
Hudson,  when  asked  as  to  where  the  designs  of  the  Indian  come  from, 
responded :  "Your  answer  is  found  in  the  dentated  oak  leal,  the 
angular  twig,  the  curling  waterfall,  the  serrations  of  mountain  tops, 
and  the  fins  of  fish  put  into  conventional  form.  No  artist  wants,  better 
models  than  nature's  own.  Precision  in  repetition  of  pattern  is  a 
mystery  we  cannot  solve." 

(a)  SYMBOLISM  IN  BASKETRY  FORMS. 

Not  only  is  there  a  distinct  symbolism  in  the  designs  woven  into 
the  basket,  but  in  some  cases  the  basket  itself  is  a  symbol. 

Among  the  Zuni,  certain  clay  water  bottles  are  made  in  imitation 
of  the  human  mammae.  The  pottery  maker  clearly  recognizes  a 
symbolism  in  these  imitative  designs.  She  speaks  of  water  as  the 
milk  of  adults.  The  earth  is  the  mother  of  men,  and  with  water  nour 
ishes  her  children  as  the  mother  nourishes  her  young  with  the  milk 
from  her  own  breasts.  Gushing  says  he  is  inclined  to  the  belief  that 
the  aperture  of  this  flat-backed,  breast-shaped  bottle  was  originally 
at  the  nipple,  but,  being  found  to  leak  when  furnished  with  the  aperture 
so  low,  this  was  closed.  Then,  in  his  inimitable  way,  the  great  ethnol 
ogist  writes  :  "A  surviving  superstition  inclines  me  to  this  view.  When 
a  Zuni  woman  has  completed  the  me-he-ton  nearly  to  the  apex,  by  the 
coiling  process,  and  before  she  has  inserted  the  nozzle,  she  prepares 
a  little  wedge  of  clay,  and,  as  she  closes  the  apex  with  it  she  turns  her 
eyes  away.  If  you  ask  her  why  she  does  this,  she  will  tell  you  that  it 
is  a-ka-ta-ni  (fearful)  to  look  at  the  vessel  while  closing  it  at  this  point ; 
that  is,  if  she  look  at  it  during  this  operation,  she  will  be  liable  to  become 
barren ;  or  that,  if  children  be  born  to  her,  they  will  die  during  infancy ; 
or  that,  she  may  be  stricken  with  blindness ;  or  those  who  drink  from 
the  vessel  will  be  afflicted  with  disease  and  wasting  away !  My  im 
pression  is  that,  reasoning  from  analogy  (which  with  these  people 
means  actual  relationship  or  connection),  the  Zuni  woman  supposes 
that  by  closing  the  apex  of  this  artificial  mamma  she  closes  the  exit- 
way  for  the  'source  of  life;'  further,  that  the  woman  who  closes  this 
exit-way  knowingly  (in  her  own  sight,  that  is)  voluntary  closes  the 
exit-way  for  the  source  of  life  in  her  own  mammae ;  further  still,  that 
for  this  reason  the  privilege  of  bearing  infants  may  be  taken  away  from 
her,  or  at  any  rate  (experience  showing  the  fallacy  of  this  philosophy) 
she  deserves  the  loss  of  the  sense  (sight)  whi^h  enabled  her  to  know 
ingly  close  the  exit-way  of  the  source  of  life." 


192 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


SYMBOLISM  OP  INDIAN   BASKETRY.  193 

"The  prevalence  of  the  heart  shape  in  the  cane  baskets  of  Louisiana 
is  a  charming  example  of  Indian  symbolism.  In  their  ceremonials 
baskets  were  used  to  hold  gifts,  and  their  shape  indicated  the  feeling 
from  which  the  offering  emanated.  This  is  the  Indian  explanation  of 
the  meaning  of  the  shape,  but  it  is  interesting  to  connect  it  with  the 
realization  of  animal  forms,  so  strongly  marked  in  the  art  remains  of 


FIG.  276.     TYPICAL  BASKET  DECORATION. 


W 


PIG.    277.     TYPICAL    BASKET    DECORATION. 


mm^llnmS 

J        iiii     iiiiiiiim  w-     -v" 

lllll|llllp|llll!!lfl|          'if  fill      "HllS'fll""  *"lfli*iliPiff*i|fff|llj      '     ii|S§fi 

n  (       ''SisS11  iMilll  ^'^SSSS^  iS  *^il      ss&  '^f 


mmmmmm         mmmm 
!fiiiHi(fi8HH!iiiinHiii 


PIG.    278.     TYPICAL    BASKET    DECORATION. 

the  mound-builders  of  the  middle  Mississippi  Valley,  for  it  may  be 
some  lingering  mark  of  their  influence.  They  represented  living  forms 
in  a  very  wonderful  way  for  savages,  and  though  they  left  only  art 
remains  to  tell  their  story,  it  is  one  of  thrilling  interest."— C.  S.  Coles. 
This  recognition  of  a  symbolism  in  the  object  itself  is  borne  out 
by  Teit  in  his  valuable  monograph  on  the  Thompson  Indians.  He  says 
that  lances  are  often  painted  with  the  figure  of  a  skelton.  The  sym- 


194  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

holism  as  given  by  the  Indians  is  obvious.  Stone  war  axes  represent 
woodpeckers,  the  point  of  the  axe  to  be  as  powerful  in  piercing  skulls 
as  the  beak  of  the  woodpecker  the  trees. 

This  symbolism  is  manifested  in  the  yucca  plaques  made  by  the 
Hopi  women  of  the  middle  mesa.  In  accordance  with  those  unwritten 
laws  which  are  the  result  of  the  superstitious  fears  of  the  Hopi,  singular 
customs  are  observed  in  the  "finishing  off"  of  these  yucca  or  amole 
made  baskets  and  plaques.  In  those  made  by  marriageable  virgins 
the  inner  grass  is  allowed  to  "flow  out,"  as  it  were,  so  that  the  baskets 
have  an  unfinished  appearance  as  shown  in  the  unfinished  basket  in  the 
weaver's  hands,  Fig.  108.  This  is  termed  the  "flowing  gate."  With 
married  women,  capable  of  bearing  children,  the  ends  of  the  grass  are 
allowed  to  flow  out,  but  they  are  cut  off  about  an  inch  or  so  from  the 
last  stitch  of  the  coil  which  confines  them.  This  is  called  the  "open 
gate."  In  the  case  of  widows  and  married  women,  who,  for  any  reason, 
are  incapable  of  bearing  children,  the  inner  grass  is  "tapered  down," 
and  carefully  wrapped  over  with  the  amole  until  it  is  covered  and  com 
pletely  finished  off.  This  is  called  the  "closed  gate." 

It  will  be  obvious  that  these  different  methods  symbolize  the  phys 
ical  condition  of  the  maker  of  the  basket,  but  the  reason  for  observing 
these  singular  customs  may  not  be  so  obvious.  Conversation  with  sev 
eral  intelligent  and  friendly  Hopis  has  gradually  made  clear  the  thoughts 
and  fears  of  this  superstition.  With  all  the  Pueblo  people  it  is  a  notice 
able  psychological  fact  that  any  fancied  resemblance,  connection  or 
analogy  is  taken  by  them  to  denote  actual  relationship  and  connection. 
By  a  process  of  reasoning,  which  to  us  seems  as  peculiar  as  it  is  simple 
and  logical  to  them,  it  follows  that  the  virgin  basket-maker  who  closes 
up  the  "gate"  in  finishing  the  basket  renders  herself  incapable  of  bear 
ing  children.  This  would  mean  a  life  of  loneliness  and  sorrow,  for  what 
man  would  marry  a  woman  incapable  of  joying  his  heart  with  the 
presence  of  healthful  children  ?  Hence,  to  preclude  the  possibility  of 
this  dreaded  fate,  a  Hopi  virgin  is  most  observant  and  scrupulously 
particular  to  avoid  any  conscious  action,  which,  by  any  chance,  could 
be  interpreted  by  the  "Powers  Above"  to  denote  her  willingness  to  be 
childless. 

The  married  woman  is  blessed  with  children,  consequently,  while 
the  gate  is  open,  the  ends  of  the  grass  may  be  shorter  than  in  the  former 
case,  while  the  barren  woman  or  widow  is  allowed  to  "close  the  gate," 
—complete  the  basket — as  with  her  there  is  no  hope  of  maternity. 

As  far  as  my  researches  have  gone  these  are  the  only  clear  instances 
I  have  found  in  which  "form"  is  a  symbol,  but  I  am  satisfied  that  fur 
ther  investigations  will  produce  much  interesting  material  in  this  branch 
of  the  subject. 

(b)    DEVELOPMENT    OF    SYMBOLISM   IN    BASKET    DESIGNS. 

What  were  the  inciting  causes  that  led  the  aboriginal  woman 
onwards  and  upwards  from  the  lower  plains  of  mere  utility  in  her 
basketry  to  the  hill  sides  of  art,  where  form,  color  and  pattern  display 
conscious  exercise  of  the  art  instinct,  deliberate  thought  and  plan? 

It  is  possible,  as  is  later  argued,  that  the  first  steps  taken  were 
accidental.  In  preparing  the  splints  some  may  have  been  of  a  slightly 
different  color  from  others.  When  worked  into  the  fabric  this  difference 
would  be  noticed,  and,  either  from  curiosity  or  a  desire  to  imitate,  the 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  IQS 

original  effect  produced  would  be  duplicated.  Once  started,  the 
variations  produced  by  color  led  the  weaver  along  many  paths,  all  of 
them  novel,  interesting  and  pleasing. 

Another  decisive  step  was  taken  when  the  primitive  weaver  con 
sciously  desired  to  produce  beauty  by  uniformity  of  stitch.  To  pre 
pare  the  splints  so  that  they  were  all  of  exactly  the  same  width,  then 
to  weave  them  according  to  perfect  measurement — this  was  excellent 
art  training  for  eye  and  hand. 

This  step,  combined  with  the  presumed  accidental  discovery  of  color 
values,  led  to  the  most  wonderful  progress.  In  seeking  to  imitate  the 
pleasing  effects  introduced  by  color  the  weaver  found  it  necessary  to 
make  some  kind  of  measurements.  Her  eye  might  generally  be  relied 
upon,  but  as  pleasure  in  accuracy  increased  she  must  find  some  method 
of  absolutely  determining  where  her  color  work  must  come  in,  and 
where  left  out.  This  made  of  woman,  first,  a  measurer,  and  then,  a 
counter.  Here  was  the  dawn  of  mathematics  to  the  aboriginal  worker. 
She  learned  the  value  of  distance,  and  the  inerrancy  of  numbers. 


FIG.    279. 


FIG.   280. 


The  monotony  of  regular  stitches  too,  taught  her  further.  Each 
stitch  made  of  splints  of  uniform  size  occupies  exactly  the  same  area 
of  space;  five  stitches,  five  times  as  much.  With  these  facts  clearly 
in  mind  she  began  to  alternate  her  sets  of  stitches,  then  to  increase  or 
diminish  them,  and  the  discovery  of  geometric  figures  and  designs  was 
the  result.  Once  the  geometric  door  was  opened  there  was  no  limit 
to  the  many  and  various  excursions  that  could  be  made.  Three  white, 
four  brown  stitches,  ad.  lib.,  produced  certain  effects.  Then  on  the 
next  round  the  number  was  reversed;  it  was  four  white  and  tnree 
brown.  On  the  following  round  five  white,  and  two  brown,  and  so  on. 
And  from  these  simple  discoveries  she  gained  pyramids,  frets,  zigzags, 
squares,  triangles,  tetragons,  stars,  polygons,  lozenges,  octagons,  paral 
lelograms,  rectangles,  and  all  the  rest,  together  with  their  wonderful 
combinations  and  relationships. 

That  Gushing  fully  accepted  this  accidental  discovery  of  geometrical 
design  is  clear.  He  says :  "There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  styles 
and  ways  of  decoration  were  developed,  along  with  the  weaving  of 
baskets,  simply  by  elaborating  on  suggestions  of  the  lines  and  figures 
unavoidably  produced  in  wicker  work  of  any  kind  when  strands  of 
different  colors  happened  to  be  employed  together."  These  remarks 
are  illustrated  by  the  diagrams,  Figs.  276,  277,  278,  which  show  typical 
basket  decorations  thus  discovered. 

Accidents  of  color  and  design  having  thus  (to  change  the  figure) 
led  her  into  pleasant  meadows  where  scores  of  beautiful  flowers  of 


196  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

simple  art  awaited  her  plucking,  the  aboriginal  woman  soon  began 
to  exercise  her  own  individuality  in  choosing  and  planting  for  herself. 

There  were  certain  objects  in  nature  which  she  wished  to  copy  be 
cause  they  reminded  her  of  certain  things ;  others  that  were  connected 
with  religious  worship.  At  first  she  imitated  these  as  near  as  the 
limitations  of  her  art  would  allow.  Then,  as  years  went  on,  her  succes 
sors  imitated  what  she  had  made,  and  the  design  slowly  grew  away 
from  the  original  and  finally  became  conventionalized  out  of  all  recog 
nition  of  the  object  which  it  was  intended  to  represent. 

This  was  a  distinct  step  forward.  It  was  the  birth  of  ideography  or 
symbolism.  Once  get  the  imaginative  brain  at  work,  and  where  was 
the  end?  With  the  Indian  there  is  no  end.  Her  symbolism  to-day  is 
wonderful  in  its  profound  meaning.  There  are  mythology,  religion,  wor 
ship,  poetry  and  history  all  woven  with  busy  brain  and  tireless  fingers 
into  baskets  which  the  unversed  regard  as  mere  examples  of  crude  and 
savage  workmanship.  It  is  only  the  things  that  we  love — simple  stars 
though  they  may  be,  as  Browning  puts  it — that  open  their  hearts  to  us, 
so  the  learned  and  the  wise  have  passed  by  these  books  of  the  aborig- 


FIG.   281.  FIG.   '282. 

inal  woman  and  having  eyes  have  seen  not,  ears  have  heard  not,  the 
sweet  sights  and  sounds  that  were  awaiting  the  simple  and  the  loving. 

To  the  common  people  of  the  dark,  middle  ages,  the  cathedrals 
and  public  buildings  were  books  in  which  they  read  many  and  wonder 
ful  things  that  only  the  wise  of  to-day  can  discern. 

What  meant  Victor  Hugo,  when  he  exclaimed  "The  book  has 
killed  the  building?"  He  merely  meant  to  express  his  belief  in  the 
fact  that  mankind  having  become  accustomed  to  the  easy  reading 
of  print,  has  forgotten  the  harder  reading  of  stone — of  gargoyle,  spire, 
tower,  buttress,  sculptured  figure  and  carved  object.  In  those  typeless, 
printless,  bookless  days  man  stood  by  the  side  of  a  cathedral  and  read 
therein  and  thereupon  most  of  the  useful  lessons  of  life.  The  spires  led 
his  thoughts  heavenward,  the  tower  symbolized  the  church  which  was 
to  connect  earth  with  the  heaven-pointing  spires ;  the  buttresses  spoke 
of  the  strength  given  to  the  church ;  while  the  carved  figures  of  angels 
saints,  pilgrims,  demons  and  devils  taught  him  that  while  man  was  a 
pilgrim  here  below,  devils  and  saints,  demons  and  angels  fought  over, 
around  and  within  him  for  mastery.  Inside  the  building  the  dim  light, 
filtering  in  through  the  gorgeous  colored  windows,  taught  him  the  rich 
beauty  of  'the  saintly  life,  though  the  calm  quietude  of  the  place  sug 
gested  that  it  was  a  life  of  restful  gentleness ;  ascending  incense  taught 
him  how  his  fervent  prayers  should  ever  be  thus  subtlely  arising  from 
earth  to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  and  the  sweet  songs  of  the  choir  and 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  197 

melodies  and  harmonies  of  the  organ  bade  him  sing  his  songs  of 
thankfulness  to  the  divine  and  beneficent  Being  who  had  given  him 
life  and  health.  These  and  many  other  thoughts  were  inspired  in  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  beholders  by  the  great  buildings  of  the  book 
less  ages. 

Then,  too,  man  had  his  poetry — the  songs  of  the  troubadours,  the 
ballads  of  the  Border,  the  Epics  of  Homer  and  Virgil — to  quicken 
his  intellect  and  stimulate  his  soul,  and  in  later  days  the  printed  page 
of  poem,  song  and  ballad ;  of  stirring  eloquence  and  vivid  enthusiasm. 
He  had  and  has  the  sculptured  marble  of  great  heroes  and  beautiful 
imaginations,  and  these  are  books  to  be  seen  and  read  of  all  men. 

But  the  Indian  had  not,  nor  has,  any  of  these.  Her  only  temples 
are  the  arched  aisles  of  stately  trees  and  those  massive  mountain  and 
canyon  walls  built  not  by  human  hands ;  the  only  sculptured  forms  she 
knows  are  the  wild  and  irregular  carvings  of  erosion  and  storm. 

Hence,  to  the  woman,  living  largely  in  the  seclusion  of  the  camp ; 
condemned  to  be  a  stay-at-home  from  the  earliest  years  of  the  race  by 
the  very  exigences  of  the  case,  her  basket-ware,  and  later,  her  pottery, 
became  her  chief  art  manifestations,  her  cathedral,  her  sculpture,  her 
book,  her  picture.  In  them  she  wrote  what  civilized  peoples  transcribed 
into  cathedral,  book,  picture,  and  he  who  would  read  Indian  thought 
aright  must  learn  to  decipher  the  hieroglyphics  of  thought  written  on 
basketry,  just  as  the  antiquarian  and  archaeologist  needed  the  Rossetta 
Stone  to  enable  them  to  read  the  mysterious  inscriptions  of  the  Egyptian 
obelisks. 

But  where  is  the  Rossetta  Stone  of  Indian  Basketry?  Fortunately 
the  writers  of  these  Indian  hieroglyphics  are  not  all  dead.  A  few  yet 
remain.  Some  are  still  writing,  and  from  what  they  tell  us  we  are 
enabled  to  penetrate  some  most  interesting  secrets. 

(c)   IMITATION   AND    CONVENTIONALIZATION. 

It  is  impossible  to  discuss  imitation  apart  from  conventionalization. 
As  I  have  just  written,  the  attempt  to  imitate  naturally  produced  a  con 
ventional  design,  often  far  away  from  the  object  imitated.  Thus  conven 
tionalization  might  be  said  to  be  a  necessary  consequence  of  imitation. 
Yet,  the  first  basketry  design  might  have  come  purely  by  accident,  as 
Gushing  has  shown  in  his  "Zuni  Culture  Growth."  The  theory  is 
based  upon  feasible  linguistic  argument. 

In  making  the  stitches  with  strands  of  different  shades,  which,  in 
the  earlier  days  of  manufacture,  would  happen  to  be  used,  quaint  figures 
necessarily  were  produced  on  the  surface  of  the  basketry,  by  the  ap 
pearance  and  disappearance  of  the  discolored  splints. 

From  the  haphazard  alternations  of  color  doubtless  came  the  first 
rude  suggestions  of  design,  dark  and  light  regularly  alternating  in 
bands,  and  then  appearing  and  disappearing  as  in  Figs.  279  and  280, 
so  that  a  lozenge  shaped  series  of  terraces  was  produced. 

On  Zuni  pottery  these  basketry  patterns  are  reproduced  as  in  Figs. 
281  and  282,  and,  that  they  are  veritable  basket  designs  is  demonstrated 
by  the  name  applied  to  them  by  the  Zuni  which  is  "double  splint- 
stitch-form  mark." 

From  Fig.  284,  which  shows  an  unfinished  wicker  water  bottle,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  warp  strands  cross  each  other  in  a  manner  very 
suggestive  to  the  pottery  artist.  Indeed,  as  Gushing  states,  the  name 
given  to  this  decoration,  when  seen  on  pottery,  denotes  its  origin  from 
basketrv. 


198  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 

Whether  this  theory  of  accidental  origin  of  design  be  feasable  or 
not,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  exercise  of  the  IMITATIVE  faculty 
was  the  first  important  step  in  the  art  evolution  of  the  Amerind. 

*The  Indian  is  essentially  imitative.  In  the  days  of  his  dawning 
intelligence,  living  in  free  and  unrestrained  contact  with  nature,  his 
perceptive  faculties  were  aroused  and  highly  developed  by  the  very 
struggle  for  existence.  He  was  compelled  to  watch  the  animals,  in 
order  that  he  might  avoid  those  that  were  dangerous  and  catch  those 
that  were  good  for  food ;  to  follow  the  flying  birds  that  he  might  know 
when  and  where  to  trap  them;  the  fishes  as  they  spawned  and  hatched; 
the  insects  as  they  bored  and  burrowed ;  the  plants  and  trees  as  they 
grew  and  budded,  blossomed  and  seeded.  He  became  familiar,  not 


r 

L_^ 


Figs.  285-286.    Design  on  Salish  Basket, 
showing  conventionalization. 


Fig.   284.    Suggestion   of  design 
for  pottery  from  basketry. 


only  with  such  simple  things  as  the  movements  of  the  polar  constella 
tions  and  the  retrograde  and  forward  motions  of  the  planets,  but  also 
with  the  less  known  spiral  movements  of  the  whirlwind  as  they  took 
up  the  sand  of  the  desert ;  and  the  zigzags  of  the  lightning  were  burned 
into  his  consciousness  and  memory  in  the  fierce  storms  that,  again 
and  again,  in  darkest  night,  swept  over  the  exposed  area  in  which  he 
roamed.  With  the  flying  of  the  birds,  the  graceful  movements  of  the 
snakes,  the  peculiar  wrigglings  of  the  insects,  the  tracks  of  insects, 
reptiles,  birds  and  animals,  whether  upon  the  sand,  the  snow,  the  mud, 
or  more  solid  earth  he  soon  became  familiar.  The  rise  and  fall  of  the 
mountains  and  valleys,  the  soaring  spires  and  wide  spreading  branches 
of  the  trees,  the  shadows  they  cast,  and  the  changes  they  underwent 
as  the  seasons  progressed;  the  scudding  or  anchored  clouds  in  their 
infinitude  of  form  and  color,  the  graceful  arch  of  the  rainbow,  the 
peculiar  formation  and  dissipation  of  the  fogs,  the  triumphant  lancings 
of  the  night  by  the  gorgeous  fire  weapons  of  the  morning  sun,  the 

*  It  will  be  noticed  by  the  critical  reader  that  I  vary  the  sex  of  the  pro 
noun  in  writing  of  the  art  developement  of  the  Amerind.  This  is  not  the 
result  of  carelessness,  but  of  purpose.  I  do  not  wish  any  reader  to  assume  that 
because  I  use  only  the  feminine  when  speaking  of  the  weaver,  I  think  the  male 
Amerind  had  no  art  develoDement. 


SYMBOLISM  OP  INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


199 


FIG.   287.     HARTT'S  THEORY  OP  DEVELOPMENT   OF    FRET    WORK. 


PIG.    289.     SCROLLS    ON    PUEBLO    INDIAN    POTTERY. 


FIG.    291.     TFTE    FRET    OF    POTTERY    DECORATION,   MIDWAY    STEP 
BETWEEN    TTTE    FRET    OF  BASKETRY  AND  THE 
SCROLL,  OF  POTTER  Y. 


2OO  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

stately  retreat  of  the  day  king  as  each  day  came  to  its  close,  all  these 
and  a  thousand  and  one  other  things  in  nature,  he  soon  learned  to 
know,  in  his  simple  and  primitive  manner  and,  when  the  imitative 
faculty  was  once  aroused,  and  the  art  faculty  demanded  expression, 
what  more  natural  than  that  he  should  attempt,  crudely  at  first,  more 
perfectly  later  on,  the  reproduction  of  that  which  he  was  constantly 
observing,  and  which  was  forcefully  impressed  upon  his  plastic  mind. 

Grosse  speaks  enthusiastically  of  this  faculty  of  observation  of 
nature  and  power  of  imitation  possessed  by  the  aborigine,  and  he  com 
mends  the  accuracy  with  which  the  pictorial  representations  are  made. 
In  course  of  time,  however,  this  imitative  faculty  became  perverted, 
owing  to  a  mistaken  and  perhaps  mercenary  motive,  that  white  men 
would  prefer  to  buy  basketry  that  contained  designs  imitated  from 
something  pertaining  to  themselves  rather  than  the  Indian.  In  Fig. 
274  examples  are  given  of  this  vicious  imitation.  While  in  themselves 
an  evidence  of  the  imitative  faculty,  the  baskets  are  to  be  condemned 
for  the  introduction  of  purely  foreign  and  inappropriate  decorative 
design. 

A  design  once  made  it  would  be  comparatively  easy  to  copy  it. 
Yet,  in  copying,  variations  would  necessarily  occur,  either  by  careless 
ness  or  volition.  And  here  is  the  next  definite  stage  of  conventional 
ization.  The  copyist  adds  to,  or  takes  from,  according  to  her  whim 
or  fancy,  and  thus  the  design,  stiH  retaining  its  original  significance  as 
imitative,  loses  its  purely  imitative  character,  and  becomes,  by  accre 
tion  or  elimination,  a  new  design. 

Anyone  of  my  readers  may  easily  test  this  unconscious  modification 
of  an  imitated  object.  Mr.  Henry  Balfour  in  his  work  on  "Evolution 
of  Art"  gives  a  simple,  though  perfect,  illustration.  He  made  a  sketch 
of  a  snail  crawling  over  a  stick  and  gave  it  to  a  friend  to  copy.  The 
copy  he  gave  to  a  third,  and  so  on  to  twelve  persons  in  turn.  The  re 
sult  was  a  drawing  of  a  bird  perched  on  a  limb.  The  designs  of  the 
Indian  women  on  their  basketry  have  undergone  a  similar  transforma 
tion  or  evolution.  Dr.  Farrand,  of  Columbia  University,  elsewhere 
often  quoted,  gave  me  a  perfect  illustration  of  this  in  a  conventionalized 
figure  he  found  on  the  basketry  of  the  Thompson  Indians.  He  saw 
the  hour-glass  object  (Fig.  285)  and  when  he  asked  what  it  represented 
was  told  that  it  was  a  bird.  But  he  could  see  no  likeness  to  a  bird  in 
this  figure,  until  he  was  shown,  on  an  older  basket,  the  key  to  the 
highly  conventionalized  design.  This  was  Fig.  286.  Here  the  head  and 
tail  of  the  bird  (although  crudely  drawn)  are  clearly  discernible.  By 
successive  stages,  deliberately  or  carelessly,  the  head  and  tail  were 
dropped  off,  but  the  remaining  portion  of  the  figure  still  stood,  a  repre 
sentation  of  the  bird. 

A  third  stage  in  conventionalization  is  taken  when  the  weaver 
volitionally  makes  changes,  in  obedience  to  the  growing  aesthetic  desire 
within  her  and  thus  completely  destroys  the  identity  of  the  new  with 
the  old  design. 

An  illustration  of  this  is  found  in  the  Tulare  basket  (so-called)  shown 
in  Fig.  275.  Here,  each  alternate  circle  of  the  design  is  composed 
of  St.  Andrew's  crosses.  I  have  heard  people  sapiently  discoursing  on 
this  cross  as  an  evidence  of  the  Christian  influence  to  which  the  Indians 
have  been  subjected  In  this  case  Hie  weaver  to  whom  I  showed  the 
photograph,  and  who  herself  was  weaving  St.  Andrew's  crosses  into 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN   BASKETRY.  2OI 

a  basket  she  was  then  making,  promptly  replied  to  my  question  that  it 
was  "rattlesnake."  By  much  questioning  and  quiet  talk  I  learned  the 
whole  secret.  If  two  joined  rattlesnake  diamonds  are  split  in  half  a 
St.  Andrew's  cross  is  the  result.  And  though  in  its  new  form  it  bears 
no  resemblance  to  the  snake  design,  it  is  still  called  by  that  name,  and 
it  means  exactly  the  same  to  her  as  if  it  were  the  original  diamond 
design.  For  the  original  diamond-backed  rattlesnake  designs  see 
Figs.  28,  42,  48,  &c. 

Last  year  I  purchased  a  beautiful  small  basket  made  by  a  girl 
of  some  eighteen  years  of  age,  on  the  Tule  River  reservation,  on  which 
double  diamonds  were  woven  by  making  the  lower  borders  of  the  upper 
row  of  diamonds  form  the  upper  borders  of  the  lower  row.  This,  she 
said,  was  her  method  of  representing  the  rattlesnake,  thus  affording 
another  instance  of  mutability  of  design. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  therefore,  it  will  be  apparent  to  the 
reader  that  the  author  believes  that  basketry  designs,  are,  or  may  be, 
wonderfully  diverse  in  their  origin.  Some  of  them  are  still  purely 
imitative,  others  are  simple  conventionalizations,  while  still  others  are 
complex  artistic  conventionalizations,  or  conventional  designs  born  of 
the  art  instinct. 

Nor  are  these  all.  As  will  be  shown  in  a  later  chapter  there  are 
designs  that  are  purely  ideographic,  that  were  so  contemplated  when 
designed  by  their  makers,  and  in  which  the  poetry  and  imagination  of 
the  Indian  are  beautifully  enshrined. 


(d)    THE    BIRTH   AND    DEVELOPMENT    OF    GEOMETRICAL  DESIGNS. 

Whence  came  all  the  many  and  diverse  geometrical  designs  found 
upon  Indian  basketry?  How  did  they  originate?  Where?  When?  By 
whom  invented  ?  Were  they  brought  to  this  land  from  some  far  away 
foreign  shore  where  art  was  in  a  highly  developed  state  ?  Or,  is  there 
some  motive  power  in  the  human  mind,  which,  working  simultaneously 
in  many  different  regions,  evolved  the  first  design  from  which  all  others 
easily  followed  ?  I  have  partially  given  answer  to  some  of  these  ques 
tionings  but  the  subject  is  worthy  of  far  more  extended  treatment  than 
I  am  now  able  to  give.  Yet,  it  may  be  that  a  contribution  to  this  long 
discussed  subject  from  the  standpoint  of  one  of  the  earliest  textile  arts 
known  to  humanity  may  be  useful  in  arriving  at  a  satisfactory  solution 
of  the  problem. 

In  regard  to  the  development  of  the  Greek  fret  and  the  scroll  in 
all  their  variations,  Professor  C.  F.  Hartt,  in  Popular  Science  Monthly, 
Vol.  6,  p.  226,  advances  the  theory  that  ornamental  designs  follow  cer 
tain  well-defined  lines  of  development  owing  to  the  structure  of  the  eye, 
which  finds  pleasure  in  the  varying  recurrence  of  these  forms.  He 
also  argues  that  in  the  general  course  of  nature  decorative  forms 
began  with  simple  elements  and  developed  by  systematic  methods  to 
complex  forms.  Take  for  example  the  series  of  designs  shown  in 
Fig.  287.  The  meander  a,  made  up  of  simple  parts  would,  according  to 
Mr.  Hartt,  by  further  elaboration  under  the  supervision  of  the  muscles 
of  the  eye,  develop  into  b.  This,  in  time,  into  c,  and  so  on  until  the 
elegant  anthemiom  was  achieved.  The  series  shown  in  Fig.  288  would 
develop  in  a  similar  way,  or  otherwise  would  be  produced  by  modifica 
tion  in  free-hand  copying  of  the  rectilinear  series.  The  processes  here 


2O2 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


FIG.  288. 


HARTT'S   THEORY  OF  DEVELOPMENT   OF 
SCROLL  WORK. 


FIG.    290.     The    Curvilinear    Scroll    Modified    by    Basketry 
Becomes   the   Rectilinear  Fret. 


SYMBOLISM  OP  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


203 


suggested,  although  to  all  appearances  reasonable  enough,  should  not 
be  passed  over  without  careful  scrutiny. 

In  such  a  theory  Mr.  Hartt  utterly  fails  to  take  into  account  at  its 
true  value  the  imitative  faculty  in  primitive  peoples.  This  is  constantly 
exercised ;  always  has  been  from  the  earliest  dawning  of  art  strivings, 
and  is  still,  even  in  the  present  day.  The  scroll  has  a  natural  imitative 
origin.  Gushing  calls  attention  to  a  fact  well  known  to  all  Indians  of 
the  South  Western  deserts.  "Those  who  have  visited  the  Southwest 
and  ridden  over  the  wide,  barren  plains,  during  late  autumn  or  early 
spring,  have  been  astonished  to  find  traced  on  the  sand  by  no  visible 
agency,  perfect  concentric  circles  and  scrolls  or  volutes  yards  long  and 


FIG.    292. 


FIGS.   293-294.    FRET  AND   MODIFIED  ZIG-ZAG  FOUND   ON 
BASKETRY    FROM    THE    AMAZON. 


as  regular  as  though  drawn  by  a  skilled  artist.  The  circles  are  made 
by  the  wind  driving  partly  broken  weed-stalks  around  and  around  their 
places  of  attachment,  until  the  fibres  by  which  they  are  anchored  sever 
and  the  stalks  are  blown  away.  The  volutes  are  formed  by  the  stem  of 
red-top  grass  and  of  a  round-topped  variety  of  the  "chenopodium," 
drifted  onward  by  the  whirlwind  yet  around  and  around  their  bushy 
adhesive  tops.  The  Pueblo  Indians  observing  these  marks,  especially 
that  they  are  abundant  after  a  wind  storm,  have  wondered  at  their 
similarity  to  the  painted  scrolls  on  the  pottery  of  their  ancestors."  See 
Fig.  289. 


2O4  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

As  basketry  was  undoubtedly  an  earlier  art  than  pottery,  the  artist 
who  des;red  to  imitate  these  strange  desert  markings,  was  compelled 
by  the  exigences  of  the  case  into  the  use  of  the  fret.  As  Professor 
Holmes  well  says :  "The  tendency  of  nearly  all  woven  fabrics  is  to 
encourage,  even  to  compel,  the  use  of  straight  lines  in  the  decorative 
designs  applied.  Thus  the  attempt  to  use  curved  lines  would  lead  to 
stepped  or  broken  lines.  The  curvilinear  scroll  coming  from  some 
other  art  would  be  forced  by  the  constructional  character  of  the  fabric 
into  square  form,  and  the  rectilinear  meander  or  fret  would  result,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  290." 

The  only  criticism  upon  these  words  of  Professor  Holmes's  that  I 
would  make  is  that  instead  of  the  scroll  coming  from  some  other  art 
it  was  found  by  the  Indian  in  nature,  as  Lieut.  Gushing  has  suggested, 
and  that  in  attempting  to  imitate  it  upon  her  basket,  the  Indian  womar* 
unconsciously  designed  the  fret. 


FIG.    295.     GEOMETRIC    SPIRAL    FORM    ON    APACHE 
BASKET 

Mr.  Holmes  calls  attention,  however,  to  a  self-evident  proposition  in 
this  discussion,  viz. :  that  though  the  fret  of  basketry  is  a  necessary 
result  of  attempting  to  compel  the  scroll  into  a  woven  form,  the  scroll 
may  easily  have  been  evolved  from  the  fret.  And  Lieut.  Gushing 
argues  that  the  scroll  of  pottery  is  the  natural  evolution — using  Fig. 
291,  the  fret  of  pottery  decoration,  as  a  step  between — from  the  fret  of 
basket  decoration. 

As  ideas  began  to  attach  to  imitative  and  conventionalized  orna 
ments,  the  Indians  themselves  associated  the  marks  on  their  baskets 
and  pottery  with  the  marks  left  on  the  desert,  and,  as  they  believe  these 
latter  "to  be  the  tracks  of  the  whirlwind  which  is  a  god  of  such  dis 
tinctive  personality  that  the  circling  eagle  is  supposed  to  be  related 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  2O5 

to  him,"  these  frets  and  scrolls  are  introduced  as  propitiatory  offer- 
As  recently  as  August  of  1899  I  found  an  example  of  this  among 
the  Havasupais  in  Cataract  Canyon.  I  purchased  a  basket  from  one 
of  my  friends  and  after  much  persuading  she  told  me  that  the  designs 
represented  the  whirlwinds.  The  general  fret  design  suggests  the 
plateaux  and  canyons  and  the  inverted  pyramids  are  the  whirlwinds  as 
they  reach  the  edges  of  the  plateaux  and  descend  into  the  canyons.  The 
center  design  is  of  a  number  of  small  whirlwinds  uniting  to  form  one 
great  and  powerful  one — which  brought  disaster  and  death  to  early 
members  of  her  family  many  years  ago.  See  Fig.  292. 

That  the  fret  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  of  designs  is  evident  from 
a  study  of  its  antiquity  and  universality.  Figs.  293  and  294  are  a  fret 
and  a  modification  zigzag  found  on  baskets  from  the  banks  of  the 
Amazon. 


Fig.   296.    Geometric   Spiral   Form   on 
Pottery,   Showing  Loss  of  Accuracy. 


As  the  aesthetic  culture  of  the  basket  maker  slowly  evolved,  the 
powers  of  imitation  grew,  and  the  spiral  was  reproduced  even  in 
basketry  with  an  accuracy  as  wonderful  as  it  is  beautiful.  In  an  Apache 
basket,  Fig.  295,  this  perfect  volute  is  shown,  and  in  reference  to  Fig. 
296  Professor  Holmes  observes  that  when  the  same  ornament  was 
copied  upon  pottery  a  tendency  is  observed  to  depart  from  symmetry 
as  well  as  consistency.  It  is  well  to  note  these  observations  as  explain 
ing  many  similar  modifications  and  variations  in  design.  He  says :  "It 
will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  design  given  in  Fig.  296,  taken  from 
the  upper  surface  of  an  ancient  vase,  that  although  the  spirit  of  decora 
tion  is  wonderfully  well  preserved  the  idea  of  the  orgin  of  all  the  rays 
in  the  center  of  the  vessel  is  not  kept  in  view,  and  that  by  carelessness 
in  the  drawing  two  of  the  rays  are  crowded  out  and  terminate  against 
the  side  of  a  neighboring  ray.  In  copying  and  recopying  by  free-hand 
methods,  many  curious  modifications  take  place  in  these  designs,  as, 
for  example,  the  unconformity  which  occurs  in  one  place  in  the  example 
given  may  occur  at  a  number  of  places,  and  there  will  be  a  series  of  in- 


206 


INDIAN   BASKETRY. 


dependent  sections,  a  small  number  only  of  the  bands  of  devices  re 
maining  true  rays." 

These  remarks  are  especially  useful  when  taken  in  conjunction  with 
what  I  have  said  on  the  subject  of  conventionalization  of  design  by 
carelessness  or  volition. 

In  determining  the  origin  of  geometric  designs  I  am  fully  convinced 
that  as  far  as  their  appearance  on  Indian  baskets  is  concerned  the 
exercise  of  the  imitative  faculty  satisfactorily  accounts  for  them  all. 

A  simple  clasification  of  these  designs  would  give  four  sources  of 
origin,  as  follows :  Animal,  Vegetable,  Natural  and  Artificial  (or 
manufactured)  objects. 

Before  presenting  examples  of  these  varied  designs,  however,  it  is 
important  that  the  student  recognizes  at  its  full  value  the  thought  of  the 
next  division  of  this  subject. 

(e)   DIVERSE  MEANINGS  OF  DESIGNS. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  same  design  may,  and  often  does, 
mean  entirely  different  things  to  different  weavers.  For  instance,  the 
zigzag  design  seen  in  Figs.  31  and  36  are  clearly  conventionalized 
representations  of  the  lightning.  But  when  the  same  design  appears 
in  the  basketry  of  the  Pomas,  Mr.  Plimpton  assures  me  that  Dr.  Hud 
son  insists  it  has  no  reference  to  lightning  but  is  the  conventional 
method  followed  by  the  Pomas  of  representing  a  flowing  stream. 

When  a  horizontal  series  of  these  rather  acute-angled  zigzags  are 
made  they  represent  mountains  and  valleys  to  the  Thompson  and  many 
other  Indians,  and  a  highly  conventionalized  variant  is  shown  in  the 
line  of  broken  zigzags  in  the  shape  of  steps,  and  of  steps  arranged  in 
ascending  terraces,  (see  Figs.  298-270,  &c.) 

In  the  basket  held  in  the  hands  of  Pedro  Lucero,  Fig.  305,  are  a 
number  of  circles  connected  with  lines.  The  explanation  given  of  these 
is  that  they  represent  the  villages  of  the  Saboba  people,  connected  by 
ties  of  blood  and  friendship.  According  to  Teit  the  same  sign  used  by 
the  Thompson  Indians  represents  two  lakes  connected  by  a.  river. 

The  cross,  according  to  Teit,  represents  to  the  Thompson  Indians 
the  crossing  of  trails.  Among  the  Yokuts  it  generally  represents  a 
battle,  and  among  the  Wallapais  and  Havasupais  it  is  a  phallic  sign. 

On  this  subject  Dr.  Farrand  writes  of  the  Salish  designs :  "Snake 
designs  are  widely  used,  but  in  many  cases  are  indistinguishable  from 
other  similar  patterns,  and  exhibit  the  confusing  process  of  convergent 
evolution.  The  typical  snake  or  snake-track  pattern  among  the  Salish 
Indians  generally,  is  a  simple  zigzag,  vertically  arranged,  but  this  often 
represents  lightning  as  well ;  and,  unless  the  artist  himself  is  at  hand 
to  tell  what  he  had  in  mind  at  the  making,  there  is  practically  never 
unanimity  of  opinion  among  the  authorities.  Investigation  of  the 
significance  of  color  has  thus  far  borne  little  fruit  in  this  region,  though 
it  is  not  impossible  that  it  may  have  a  determinant  value  in  just  such 
cases  as  this.  The  snake  zigzag  may  also  be  placed  horizontally,  but 
in  that  event  is  often  identical  with  the  mountain  pattern  representing 
a  mountain  chain." 

The  diamonds  of  Fig.  302,  to  the  Quinaielts,  represent  roughly  the 
shape  of  the  flounder.  This  is  a  common  and  well  recognized  design 
of  that  tribe.  Yet  among  the  Cahuillas,  Rosario  Casero  snowed  me  the 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


2O7 


PIG    297.    BASKETS    OP    HIGHLY   CONVENTIONALIZED    DESIGNS 
IN   PRIVATE    COLLECTION    OF   W.    D.    CAMPBELL. 


FIG.    298.     BASKETS    MADE    BY    SALISH    STOCK    INDIANS. 


208 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


same  design  and  said  it  represented  the  leaves  of  the  trees  that  grow  by 
the  side  of  one  of  their  springs. 

Among  the  designs  of  the  Salish  Stock  (The  Thompson  Indians) 
is  one  exactly  the  counterpart  of  Fig.  292  (except  for  the  inverted  pyra 
mid).  This  represents  a  snake,  yet  in  the  Havasupai  design  represented 
it  means  the  plateaux  and  canyons  of  the  region  in  which  they  live.  The 
same  design  is  seen  around  the  top  of  the  basket  to  the  right  in  Fig. 


FIG.    299.     SALISH    BASKETRY. 

48.   This  is  made  by  a  Mono,  and  she  herself  explained  that  it  was  in 
imitation  of  the  fences  of  the  white  man. 

(f)    DESIGNS    OF    ANIMAL    ORIGIN. 

These  are  numerous,  and  are  found  in  the  work  of  all  the  basket 
makers.  First  and  foremost  are  the  human  figures. 

Fig.  271  represents  three  most  beautiful  and  rare  baskets  in  the 
Plimpton  Collection,  San  Diego,  Cal.  These  interestingly  reveal  the 


\/ 


FIGS.    300-301-302-303. 


various  modes  of  presenting  the  human  figure.  The  upper  basket,  oval 
in  shape,  was  made  by  a  Wichumna  of  the  Yokut  tribe.  She  was  living 
in  one  of  the  upper  reaches  of  King's  River  in  Kern  County.  Here  the 
figures  are  those  of  dancers,  holding  hands,  some  wearing  feathered 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  2O9 

kilts.  I  showed  the  photograph  of  this  basket  to  an  intelligent  weaver, 
and  she  informed  me  that  it  represented  a  "big  dance,"  something  the 
weaver  desired  to  celebrate  and  keep  in  memory,  as  the  kilted  figures 
were  possibly  those  of  the  Shamans,  many  of  whom  were  present.  The 
crosses  were  copied  from  the  Pictured  Rocks  of  the  locality,  and,  taken 
in  conjunction  with  the  great  dance,  the  presence  of  so  many  kilted 
Shamans  or  medicine  men,  and  the  explanation  given  that  these 
crosses  represent  battles,  she  assumed  that  this  was  a  memorial  basket 
made  by  a  woman  who  witnessed  the  dances  held  in  honor  of  certain 
decisive  victories  won  by  her  people.  Above  the  dancers  is  the  diamond- 
back  rattlesnake  pattern  beautifully  woven. 


FIG.    304.     ONE    OP    DAT-SO-LA-LEE'S    MASTERPIECES. 

The  basket  to  the  left  is  by  a  Tulare  weaver,  and  shows  the  general 
method  followed  by  this  people  to  represent  the  human  figure.  In  the 
border  above  are  the  St.  Andrew's  crosses  before  referred  to. 

The  basket  to  the  right  is  an  old  Inyo  County  basket,  purchased  in 
Lone  Pine  from  a  Paiuti  woman  by  Mr.  A.  W.  De  La  Cour  Carroll,  an 
enthusiastic  basketry  collector,  who  has  secured  some  choice  specimens. 
It  shows  the  oldest  type  of  human  figure  known  to  these  Indians  and 
offers  a  singular  contrast  to  both  the  other  designs. 

The  large  basket,  Fig.  80,  is  evidently  a  dance  basket,  used  to  rep 
resent  a  circular  dance,  and  may  be  a  Yokut,  a  California  Paiuti,  or  an 
Apache.  This  latter  people  often  make  a  circular  dance  basket  the 
design  of  which  represents  the  Havasupai  Thapala  or  Peach  Dance. 
This  is  supposed  to  bring  good  luck  to  the  maker  and  her  family,  as 
the  Thapala  Dance  is  associated  in  her  mind  with  the  abundance  of  the 
harvest  of  the  Havasupais  when  she,  as  a  visitor,  was  feasted  on  corn, 
melons,  squash,  pumpkins  and  other  good  things. 


2IO  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

In  the  chapter  on  "Basket  Forms  and  Designs  and  their  Relation 
to  Art"  is  shown  a  Hopi  presentation  of  the  human  face  (see  Fig.  165) 
and  on  the  Apache  basket,  Fig.  105,  many  human  figures  are  woven. 
In  the  basket  marked  No.  10  in  Fig.  272,  Rosario  Casero,  the  Cahuilla 
weaver,  represents  girls  using  the  skipping  rope  in  which  the  figures 
are  strikingly  realistic.  Such  designs  as  these  are  important  as  they 
show  a  high  stage  of  geometrical  conventionalization,  imposed  by  the 
materials  used  in  weaving,  and,  at  the  same  time,  as  close  an  imitation 
of  the  originals  as  the  limitations  of  weaving  allowed.  This  subject  has 
been  fully  discussed  elsewhere. 

In  two  of  the  baskets  of  Fig.  28  dancing  Shamans  are  shown. 

In  the  Thompson  Indians'  designs  Farrand  shows  several  most  in 
teresting  ones  of  human  heads.  In  all  of  them  the  mouth  is  open,  and 
in  one  case  the  teeth  are  represented.  This  design  is  practically  shown 
in  Fig.  298,  on  the  lower  right  basket.  It  requires  some  imagination 
to  see,  in  this  highly  conventionalized  design,  which  is  simply  two  of 
the  plateaux  and  canyon  design  of  Fig.  292,  placed  face  to  face  in  a  per 
pendicular,  instead  of  a  horizontal  position,  the  representation  of  a 
human  face  and  yet  that  is  the  explanation  given  by  its  weaver.  It  is 
well  to  compare  this  with  the  graphic  representation  on  Fig;  265. 

In  Figs.  28  and  48  hunters  are  seen  in  the  quail  design  basket,  and 
in  the  beautiful  Yokut  bowl  of  Fig.  52  are  well  made  human  figures. 
These  are  similar  to  the  ones  found  in  Figs.  164  and  236  and  two  of 
the  baskets  of  Fig.  58.  But  in  Fig.  72  there  are  decidedly  novel  pre 
sentations  of  men  and  women.  The  men  are  differentiated  from  the 
women  by  being  taller  and  in  the  exaggerated  form  of  their  "divided" 
garment,  the  split  of  which  is  made  to  reach  far  up  beyond  the  waist, 
even  to  the  bottom  of  the  chest.  The  women  stand  straddling  so  that 
their  spread-out  skirts  are  made  very  imposing.  In  Fig.  79  basket  No. 
3  has  a  number  of  human  figures,  who  stand  hand  in  hand  in  a  circle. 
These  are  undoubtedly  dancers,  and  Fig.  149  is  a  "stitch"  representation 
of  similar  figures  showing  how  the  lines  of  geometricity  are  imposed 
by  the  splint  stitch  upon  the  weave.  In  Fig.  105  many  of  the  men 
stand  with  the  left  arm  upraised  and  the  open  palm  presented.  This  is 
signal,  or  sign-language  for  "halt,"  and  is  the  hunter's  sign  of  success, 
he  having  "halted"  all  the  deer  that  came  near  him  on  the  occasion  of 
his  excursion.  Human  figures  will  also  be  seen  on  the  beautiful 
McLeod  basket,  Fig.  270. 

Perhaps  the  most  common  design  in  California  baskets  is  that  of 
the  diamond-backed  rattlesnake.  In  its  simplest  and  purest  form  it  is 
well  shown  in  Fig.  48  (the  basket  to  the  right)  and  Fig.  52.  Here 
there  can  be  no  mistaking  the  design.  It  is  also  very  clear  in  Fig.  275, 
the  circles  alternating  with  the  St.  Andrew's  crosses,  which,  as  I  have 
before  explained,  are  an  evolution  from  the  rattlesnake  design.  Other 
manifestations  of  this  design  may  be  seen  in  Figs.  3,  4,  15,  28,  42,  48, 
52,  58,  74,  79,  271,  275,  and  297.  In  Fig.  42  the  Saboba  weaver  called 
this  "rattlesnake,"  yet  it  is  very  much  like  the  design  in  Fig.  305,  which 
represents  the  villages  of  the  Saboba  people  joined  together  by  ties 
of  kinship  and  amity.  Farrand  pictures  a  somewhat  similar  design, 
with  double  lines,  however,  which  represents  to  the  Thompson  Indians 
lakes  connected  by  a  river. 

Another  common  California  and  North  Pacific  region  design  is 
that  of  the  quail.  The  distinguishing  feature  of  this  design  is  the 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  2I1 

plume,  which  appears  something  like  a  rude  sketch  of  a  golf  club  and 
is  invariably  shown  in  vertical  square-tipped  appendices  to  parallelo 
grams  or  triangles,  which  represent  the  bodies  of  the  birds.  This  de 
sign  is  seen  in  the  center  bottom  basket  of  Fig.  28  and  the 
basket  to  the  left  in  Fig.  48;  also  in  Fig.  164.  The  best  representation 
i.c  in  Fig.  52.  A  highly  conventionalized  form  is  shown  in  Fig.  234, 
and  it  is  possible  that  on  basket  49,  in  Fig.  97,  is  still  another  highly 
conventionalized  form.  In  Fig.  234  some  of  the  plumes  are  placed 
inside  down  to  correspond  with  the  upright  ones  opposite.  In  basket 
o,  Fig.  297,  one  of  the  beautiful  baskets  of  the  Campbell  collection,  an 
•inusual  quail  design  is  shown.  This  is  a  so-called  Tulare  basket,  and 
represents  large  ponds  or  lakes,  near  which  quail  abound.  Basket 
No.  2  of  Fig.  79,  also  in  the  Campbell  collection,  shows  the  quail 
olumes  and  a  highly  conventionalized  mountain  design,  down  or 
fhrough  which  the  water  flows. 

Tt  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  fine  baskets  ornamented  with  the 
plumes  themselves,  many  of  them  being  used  in  the  ornamented  shi-bu 
of  the  Pomas. 

Birds  of  different  kinds,  beside  the  quail,  are  often  represented.  The 
large  center  basket  of  Fig.  170,  on  the  bottom  row,  was  made  by 
Felipa  Akwakwa,  at  Cahuilla,  and  the  large  diamonds,  she  said,  were 
flying  geese.  In  Fig.  155  the  inverted  triangles  that  run  around  the  up 
per  part  are  said  to  be  flying  geese.  In  Fig.  81  the  upper  basket  to  the 
right  is  said  to  be  a  flying  bird,  as  is  also  the  highly  conventionalized 
design  on  Fig.  156.  The  bottom  basket  to  the  right,  in  Fig.  96,  has  a 
design  much  like  the  quail  designs,  but  Dixon  says  he  was  told  by  the 
Maidus  that  this  represents  flying  geese,  though  in  the  design  figured 
by  him  the  appendices  are  triangular  instead  of  square,  as  in  Fig.  96. 
Figs.  i66and  167  are  bird  forms  explained  by  Holmes.  Elsewhere,  in 
speaking  of  the  evolution  of  design  I  have  quoted  Farrand.  In  Figs. 
46,  262  and  78  the  hour  glass  bird  design  is  clearly  shown.  In  the  large 
basket  of  Fig.  297,  of  IJoma  weave,  No.  4,  the  central  design  is  a 
highly  conventionalized  calyx  of  a  flower,  but  the  main  design  is  of 
birds,  somewhat  similar  to  those  pictured  by  Farrand.  Dixon  pictures 
a  zig-zag  design  something  like  the  two  shown  in  Fig.  77  and  explains  : 
"It  is  said  to  signify  the  patch  of  white  seen  on  each  side  of  the  bird." 
It  is  known  as  the  "duck's  wing." 

The  flying  bats  of  Fig.  306  are  readily  distinguisned. 

In  Fig.  27  in  the  Apache  basket  to  the  right  on  the  bottom  row, 
and  in  basket  No.  2,  Fig.  79,  are  several  butterflies,  and  in  Figs.  53 
and  248  are  also  butterfly  wings. 

In  the  Hopi  basket,  Fig.  61,  is  a  highly  conventionalized  design 
which  I  have  been  told  represents  both  the  dragon  fly  and  the  bee. 

Clusters  of  flies  are  represented  in  the  round  basket  in  the  center  of 
Fig.  45,  and  in  Fig.  86.  The  center  design  of  Fig.  237  is  also  a  fly 
cluster. 

The  spider-web  design,  so  important  to  the  Hopi,  is  shown  in  their 
baskets  in  Figs.  34,  81  and  114,  and  is  also  represented  in  the  Apache 
basket  in  Fig.  27  (the  bottom  to  the  right),  and  in  the  Agua  Caliente 
basket  in  the  hands  of  the  weaver,  Fig.  55. 

In  the  bottom  basket  to  the  right  of  Fig.  170  and  the  bottom  to  the 
left  of  Fig.  73  are  different  representations  of  the  irack  of  certain  earth 
worms. 


212  INDIAN  BASKBTKiT. 

In  the  uppei  row  of  the  design  of  the  basket  to  the  left  ^n  Fig.  78 
are  several  animals,  possibly  reindeer,  and  in  Fig.  105  both  deer  and 
elk  are  shown. 

In  Fig.  272  the  keen-eyed  may  see  a  basket  marked  15.  This  was 
made  at  Cahuilla,  and  represents  the  four  feet  and  cUws  of  a  bear,  put 
in  star  fashion,  with  a  design  on  the  sides  representing  the  sharp  saw 
teeth  of  ursa  major. 

Fish  are  often  found  represented  on  .he  baskets  of  the  North  Pacific 
Coast  and  Alaska  Indians.  In  Fig.  4.6  the  basket  at  bottom  to  the 
right  shows  the  glisten  on  the  rolling  waves,  through  which  fish  (repre 
sented  by  the  diamonds)  are  seen  to  be  swimming.  See  also  Fig.  302 
and  the  comments  in  section  e  of  this  same  chapter,  where  the  use  of 
the  diamond  to  represent  fish  is  discussed. 

I  have  an  interesting  Havasupai  basket  in  my  own  collection,  the 
design  of  which  is  much  like  the  horizontal  zig-zags  seen  in  Figs.  76 
and  196.  These  zig-zags,  however,  all  start  from  near  the  center,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  each  is  a  sort  of  imperfect  parallelogram,  which  is 
clearly  a  head.  The  weaver  told  me  that  these  were  four  plumed  ser 
pents,  and  that  the  basket  was  used  to  carry  the  sacred  meal  which  was 
sprinkled  at  a  certain  shrine,  the  serpent  being  the  guardian  of  their 
water  sources. 

(g)  DESIGNS  OF  VEGETABLE  ORIGIN. 

Farrand  and  Dixon  picture  few  designs  of  vegetable  origin.  The 
former  found  an  acute  zig-zag  which  was  said  to  represent  a  plant  with 
fern-like  leaf,  end  view.  A  somewhat  similar  design  is  shown  in  the 
top  basket  of  Fig.  28.  Dixon  pictures  a  flower,  brake,  vine,  pine  cone 
and  bush.  In  Fig.  56  the  design  on  the  last  basket  but  one  to  the 
right  was  said  to  be  pine  cones  piled  one  above  another,  but  it  is  a 
very  different  design  from  that  pictured  by  Dixon. 

Trees  are  represented  in  the  singular  design  of  the  Alaska  basket 
to  the  left,  on  the  bottom  of  Fig.  45,  and  the  seventh  basket  from  the 
left  of  Dat-so~la-lee's  work,  Fig.  56,  also  represents  trees.  In  Fig. 
63  the  Chemehuevi  weaver  represents  a  tree,  stem  and  leaves,  and  Fig. 
300  is  a  conventionalized  representation,  quite  common  in  Southern 
California,  of  the  twigs  shooting  out  from  the  trunk  of  a  growing 
tree.  It  is  generally  placed  around  the  basket,  instead  of  perpendicular, 
as  in  Fig.  63. 

In  Fig.  196  the  upper  circle  of  the  design  is  of  trees.  In  Fig.  170, 
on  the  second  row  from  the  bottom,  and  the  second  basket  from  the 
left,  is  a  basket  I  bought  in  Saboba.  It  was  made  by  Juana  Apapos 
while  on  a  visit  to  Cahuilla. 

The  design  shows  mountain  benches  and  towering  peaks,  and  deep, 
depressed  valleys.  A  tiny  spot  of  white  will  be  seen  in  most  of  these 
''valleys."  These  represent  the  water  pools  and  ponds  that  accumulate 
below  the  ground.  Over  the  valleys  are  great,  overhanging,  black, 
'  double  triangles,  and  for  some  time  she  hesitated  before  declaring 
these  to  be  crude  representations  of  the  large  trees  that  grow  on  Mounts 
San  Jacinto  and  San  Gorgonio.  With  a  deprecatory  laugh  she  ex 
claimed  :  "I  made  the  first  too  big  and  if  didn't  suit  me,  but  I  made  all 
the  others  like  it." 

Beautiful  flower  designs  are  often  found  in  the  basketry  of  Southern 
California.  In  Fig.  80  the  design  of  the  basket  to  the  left  is  of  the  calyx 
of  a  flower,  and  a  similar  beautiful  design  is  shown  in  the  fourth  basket 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  213 

from  the  bottom  on  the  left  in  Fig.  170.  This  same  basket  is  seen 
clearer  in  Fig.  273,  No.  n.  The  designs  on  the  two  baskets  at  the 
extreme  right  and  left  of  Fig.  103  are  similar  to  what  Dixon  pictures  as 
a  flower  design.  It  consists  of  broad-based  triangles,  each  row  from  the 
base  to  the  top  containing  successively  larger  triangles. 

Dixon  also  figures  a  fern  design  somewhat  similar  to  basket  No.  8 
in  the  Campbell  collection,  Fig.  297.  It  is  the  common  brake  (Pteris 
aquilinaj,  and  the  points  are  intended  for  the  pinnae  of  the  ferns,  but, 
he  adds,  "the  meaning  of  the  bars  in  the  central  stripe  is  not  yet  clear." 
Accepting  the  Poma  interpretation  this  design  represents  the  ascending 
steps  of  the  mountains,  and  the  central  stripe  is  of  water  flowing  down. 

In  Fig.  170  the  second  basket  from  the  bottom  on  the  left  has  a 
beautiful  design  worked  in  brown.  Its  maker  told  me  it  represented 
the  waving  leaves  of  corn,  as  they  were  bowed  over  in  the  wind.  Basket 
No.  5  in  Fig.  272  is  an  exquisitely  worked  Agua  Caliente,  representing 
the  base  of  the  yucca,  and  Fig.  303  is  a  common  design  showing  the 
pointed  leaves  of  this  desert  denizen. 

(h)   DESIGNS   OF   NATURAL  ORIGIN. 

In  the  realm  of  nature,  aside  from  the  animal  and  vegetable  king 
doms,  the  aboriginal  artist  found  the  motive  for  many  of  her  most 
effective  and  interesting  designs.  In  the  exercise  of  the  imitative 
faculty  she  could  not  fail  to  be  led  into  imitating  those  things  that  most 
impressed  her,  hence  we  find  designs  of  mountains,  lightning,  rain- 
clouds,  the  streams,  etc.,  in  great  profusion. 

Perhaps  the  most  common  design  of  all  basketry  is  the  zigzag,  both 
horizontal  and  perpendicular.  As  before  shown,  this  may  represent 
lightning,  mountains,  waves,  flowing  water  or  the  ripples  in  the  streams, 
according  to  the  individual  taste  of  the  weaver.  In  Fig.  31,  however, 
we  have  a  solid  basis  to  rest  upon,  in  the  antelope  altar  of  the  Hopis. 
Here  the  zigzags  are  assuredly  of  the  lightning,  connected  with  the 
rain  clouds.  In  Fig.  244,  also,  we  have  a  design  said  to  be  the  male  and 
female  lightning.  In  Fig.  15  is  the  bottom  of  a  saucer-shaped  basket, 
just  below  the  Lite  seed-wand,  on  the  right,  and  this  is  of  the  conven 
tionalized  lightning  pattern.  In  the  top  basket  of  Fig.  28  is  a  design 
either  of  lightning  or  mountain  and  valleys,  and  in  the  basket  just  below 
the  left  is  a  highly  conventionalized  pattern,  which  Dr.  Hudson  says 
is  the  ripples  on  the  water.  The  Havasupai  basket  held  by  the  woman 
in  Fig.  36  (the  largest  basket  there)  is  undoubtedly  of  the  lightning, 
as  both  the  holder  and  a  Havasupai  to  whom  I  submitted  it  said  the 
same  thing.  In  the  basket  to  the  left  of  the  weaver  in  Fig.  49  is  the 
descending  lightning,  and  this  same  pattern  is  seen  in  Figs.  56,  74,  87, 
203  and  204.  Zig-zags  that  are  as  likely  to  represent  the 
ascending  steps  of  the  mountains  as  lightning  are  shown  in  Figs.  73 
and  196.  The  difficulty  of  determining  between  the  two  is  well  illus 
trated  in  Fig.  1 06,  the  interpretation  of  which  I  obtained  from  an 
Apache. 

The  upper  chevron  is  the  conventionalized  lightning  pattern.  The 
lower  chevron  represents  the  mountains  and  intervening  valleys,  and 
the  black  line  reaching  from  each  valley  to  the  common  black  circle 
center,  shows  how  the  waters  accumulate  in  the  valleys  and  from  thence 
go  to  feed  the  great  waters  at  the  center  of  the  earth  from  which  all 
springs  originate.  This  black  line  and  center  cannot  be  seen  in  the  en 
graving. 


214  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

Fig.  62,  however,  is  certainly  of  the  mountain  and  valley  design, 
as  its  Wallapai  maker  so  informed  me.  The  Sacred  Navaho  Basket, 
Fig,  27,  as  1  have  before  explained,  represents  the  mountains  and  val 
leys  of  the  upper  world  and  also  of  the  under  world.  Fig  227  is  an  in 
different,  imitation  of  this  design  and  means  the  same  thing. 

The  two  top  baskets  in  Fig.  46  represent  mountains  and  valleys, 
with  lakes,  and  the  Washoe  design  of  Fig.  204  is  interesting  because 
of  its  complexity.  It  shows  mountains  and  valleys,  and  on  the  sum 
mits  of  the  mountains  the  inverted  pyramids  are  rain  clouds.  Reach 
ing  down  below  the  valleys  are  water  courses  terminating  in  lakes. 

Fig.  51  is  a  fine  Poma  basket  and  the  zigzag  is  that  of  mountains 
and  valleys,  as  is  also  the  design  of  Fig.  188.  The  Saboba  design  of 
Fig.  170  (second  basket  from  left  of  second  row  from  bottom)  has  been 
fully  explained. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  best  of  the  highly  conventionalized  mountain 
and  valley  patterns  is  shown  in  the  large  basket  No.i  of  Fig.  79.  Here 
trees  are  represented  growing  both  on  the  heights  and  in  the  plains. 
Fig.  151  clearly  shows  mountains  and  valleys,  and  the  black  patches 
are  pools  or  lakes  of  water. 

The  ascending  steps  or  terraces  of  the  mountains  are  often  shown, 
however,  in  an  entirely  different  manner,  and  Fig.  86  is  a  type  of  this 
design.  Here  the  ascent  is  gradual,  but  certain.  This  design  appears 
in  Figs.  48,  164,  236  and  270,  and  in  a  modified  form  in  Figs.  28,  52, 
92  and  others.  Some  weavers  contend  that  this  represents  flowing 
water,  and  in  the  case  of  such  designs,  as  on  the  basket  to  the  right  in 
Fig.  76  claim  that  water  flowing  down  the  mountain  sides  is  repres 
ented.  This  latter  is  a  common  Poma  design. 

In  the  top  center  basket  of  Fig.  58  is  a  volute  design  which  repre 
sents  mountain  steps,  and  this  is  also  said  to  be  the  design  of  the  large 
nasket  dimly  seen  to  the  right  in  Fig.  57.  The  center  upper  basket  of 
Fig.  298  is  clearly  a  mountain  step  design.  From  what  has  here  been 
said  it  will  be  seen  that  only  the  weaver  herself  can  determine  which 
design  represents  mountains,  and  which  flowing  streams.  The  large 
center  basket  of  Fig.  28,  the  left  basket  of  Fig.  48,  the  large  basket  of 
the  second  row  from  the  top  of  Fig.  58,  the  large  shu- 
set  to  the  left  of  Fig.  74,  the  shu-set  on  the  right  of  Fig.  76,  the  two  to 
the  left  of  Fig.  92,  and  the  design  on  the  body  of  Fig.  155  are  all  said, 
by  some  weavers,  to  represent  flowing  streams  and  the  sunshine 
ripples  upon  me  water.  On  the  bottom  basket  of  Fig.  76  and  the  body 
of  Fig.  196  are  rippling  streams. 

In  the  Apache  and  Pima  baskets  are  to  be  found  many  and  varied 
manifestations  of  a  design  that  has  undoubtedly  the  same  motive.  Dr. 
Wilson  regards  this  design,  in  some  of  its  forms,  as  the  Swastika,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  as  to  its  likeness  to  this  well-known  and  world-wide 
sign  or  symbol.  The  constant  recurrence  of  this  design  in  some  form 
or  other,  so  interested  me  that  I  made  enquiry  of  a  number  of  weavers, 
both  Apache  and  Pima,  and  always  with  the  same  result.  Water  is 
their  greatest  desideratum.  This  design  represents  the  source  of  the 
water  supply  in  the  great  central  figure,  and  the  geometrical  lines  lead 
ing  out  from  this  central  reservoir  are  the  winding  and  meandering 
streams.  "Excellent  examples  of  this  design  will  be  found  in  Figs.  27, 
120,  246,  82,  57  and  75,  and  when  I  showed  a  Pima  weaver  the  photo- 


SYMBOLISM  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  215 

graph  of  Fig.  58  she  insisted  that  the  designs  of  several  of  those  were 
of  the  same  origin. 

The  difference  between  this  "water-source"  design  of  the  lakes  can 
be  seen  by  comparing  the  foregoing  with  Figs.  46,  78,  151  and  204 
in  all  of  which  lakes  are  said  to  be  represented. 

In  the  two  bottom  baskets  in  Fig.  46  waves  are  said  to  be  shown. 
In  the  one  to  the  left  one  weaver  said  the  diamonds  were  flounders, 
or  some  other  flat  fish,  and  that  waves  and  flounders  alternated,  but 
another  insisted  that  the  wavy  lines  were  mountains  and  valleys  and  the 
hour-glass  design,  which  makes  the  diamonds,  was  of  a  bird ;  (see 
remarks  of  Farrand's  on  the  bird  design,  earlier  in  this  chapter). 

Rain  clouds  often  appear,  but  in  varied  forms.  In  the  sacred 
Navaho  basket,  Fig.  29,  clouds,  heavy  with  rain,  are  represented.  Fig. 
31  shows  the  rain  clouds  of  the  Hopi  Antelope  Altar.  In  Fig.  36,  the 
basket  of  the  woman  whose  head  is  most  bowed  shows  the  Havasupai 
design  for  the  rain  cloud,  a  kind  of  terrace,  more  like  a  mountain  than 
a  cloud.  The  same  design  is  seen  in  Fig.  25,  and  the  peculiar  geomet 
rical  design  of  Fig.  35  is  said  to  be  a  Hopi  representation  of  rain  clouds. 
In  showing  Fig.  120  to  one  Pima  weaver,  she  claimed  that  the  funnel- 
shaped  figures  on  the  rim  are  the  rain  clouds,  which  send  rain  to 
the  earth,  there  to  meet  the  streams  that  flow  from  the  water  source  in 
the  interior  of  the  earth. 

Connected  with  rain  are  the  rainbows  and  these  are  seen  in  the 
second  basket  from  the  bottom  on  the  right  in  Fig.  170.  This  was 
made  by  a  Cahuilla  woman.  The  same  basket  is  seen  in  Fig.  272  and 
is  No.  18. 

Stars  are  not  uncommon.  In  Fig.  57  a  Mescalero  Apache  has  made 
a  star  in  the  basket  I  have  marked  M,  and  in  Fig.  75  is  an  Apache  star. 
In  several  Cahuilla  and  Agua  Caliente  baskets  the  star  is  seen.  See 
Fig.  272,  basket  No.  8,  and  Fig  307. 

In  Fig.  119  Dat-so-la-le  represents  the  up-darting  beams  of  light 
of  the  rising  sun,  and  in  Fig.  304  the  ascending  heat  waves,  or  the 
light  of  early  morning  rising  from  behind  the  serrated  mountain 
summits. 

(i)   DESIGNS   OF  ARTIFACT   ORIGIN. 

The  most  common  of  designs  gained  from  manufactured  objects, 
is  that  of  the  arrow  point.  This  is  met  with  in  a  thousand  and  one 
ways.  The  ingenuity  of  the  weaver  seems  to  have  been  exercised  to 
fhe  utmost  to  produce  variations  upon  this  single  theme.  On  the  top 
basket  of  Fig.  27  is  a  row  of  arrow  points,  and  they  appear  in  Figs.  56* 
and  the  smaller  designs  of  Fig.  247.  Fig  240  is  made  entirely  of 
arrow  points,  and  basket  16  of  Fig.  272  is  the  same.  Baskets 
Nos.  i,  3,  4,  9  and  10  of  Fig.  273  and  No.  i  of  Fig.  297  are  all 
of  arrow  point  design.  Farrand  pictures  a  Salish  arrow  point  design 
exactly  like  that  seen  on  Fig.  299. 

Of  almost  as  common  occurrence  is  the  "reda"  or  net  design.  This 
carrying  net  was  one  of  the  earliest  premonitions  of  basketry,  hence 
it  is  not  strange  that'  it  should  be  frequently  incorporated  into  modern 
work.  In  Fig.  15  the  basket  below  the  topmost  one  has  this  design, 
as  has  also  the  basket  in  the  hands  of  the  weaver,  Fig.  47.  Two  of  the 
baskets  of  Fig.  49  are  net  designs,  and  the  one  to  the  right  of  the 
weaver  is  well  shown  in  Fig.  172.  In  Fig.  121  the  net  is  shown  with  a 


2l6 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


number  of  articles  inside.  Baskets  No.  n,  of  Fig.  272,  and  No.  13, 
of  Fig.  273  are  both  of  this  "reda"  pattern,  the  former  from  Agua 
Caliente  and  the  latter  from  Cahuilla. 

In  Fig.  247  the  wife  of  a  warrior  wished  to  represent  stone  battle 
axes  as  well  as  arrow-points,  and  Farrand  figures  one  of  a  somewhat 
similar  motive. 

The  cross  occasionally  appears.  It  may  represent  a  star,  a  place  of 
battle  or  slaughter,  (either  of  men  or  animals),  the  crossing  of  trails, 
or  a  phallic  sign.  It  will  be  seen  in  Figs.  59,  86,  105  and  270. 

Twice  weavers  have  told  me  that  they  intended  to  represent  fences. 
The  upper  design  in  the  basket  to  the  right  of  Fig.  48,  and  the  two 
upper  and  two  lower  designs,  enclosing  the  St.  Andrew's  crosses,  of 
the  basket  to  the  right  in  the  middle  row  of  Fig.  28  show  these  repre 
sentations. 

The  small  basket  on  the  top  to  the  left  of  Fig.  170  was  made  by 
Juana  Apapos,  at  Saboba.  She  said  it  represented  the  time  "a  great 
many  snows  ago,  when,  here  in  Saboba,  and  she  was  a  very  little  girl, 
the  old  men  and  women  came  together  and  sat  in  a  rude  circle  and  there 
played  a  game  with  sticks,  which  they  stuck  in  the  sand  within  the 
circle.  As  they  won  or  lost  the  sticks  changed  hands,  and  some  would 
have  many  and  some  few." 

The  players  are  represented  in  the  oval  at  the  bottom  of  the  basket 
and  four  of  the  sticks,  standing  upright,  are  shown  above  it,  while 
eight  more  are  at  each  end  and  four  more  at  the  other  side. 

(j)  BASKETS  WITH  MIXED  DESIGNS. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  here  to  dwell  in  detail  upon  the  fact  that  in 
many  baskets  the  design  is  complex.  There  are  mountains,  valleys, 
canyons  and  trees  in  one,  and  streams,  quail,  hunters,  trails  and  butter 
flies  in  another.  Examples  of  this  complexity  in  design  are  seen  in  Fig. 
28,  where  the  rattlesnake  design  and  dancers  are  found  in  one  basket, 
and  flowing  water  with  ripples,  quail  plumes  and  human  figures  are  in 
another.  The  baskets  in  Figs.  46,  48,  52,  53,  57,  &c.,  serve  to  illus 
trate  further.  I  am  satisfied  that,  ultimately,  it  will  generally  be  found 
that  this  complexity  is  not  purposeless,  or  merely  imitative,  but  that 
these  various  signs  or  symbols  are  placed  in  juxtaposition  for  some 
reason  clearly  in  the  mind  of  the  weaver.  When  we  are  able  to  inter 
pret  these  mixed  designs  as  the  weaver  herself  does  we  shall  be  a  long 
step  nearer  the  goal  of  knowledge  which  will  reveal  the  Indian  to  us, 
not  the  dumb,  unintelligent,  unimaginative,  unreligious  character  we 
have  too  long  regarded  him,  but  as  a  mentally  alert,  intelligent,  observ 
ant,  imaginative,  poetic  and  religious  being,  whose  mental  operations 
it  is  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  study. 


THE    POETRY    OF    INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


217 


INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  POETRY  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

No  collector  will  need  to  be  told  of  the  charm  and  delight  that  are  to 
be  found  in  each  "fine"  basket.  One's  emotional  nature  is  aroused 
and  quickened  again  and  again,  as  new  beauties  are  observed  in  form, 
color  and  design. 

But  the  greatest  source  of  delight  in  basketry,  to  my  mind,  is  to  be 
found  in  the,  as  yet,  almost  untouched  well  of  symbolism ;  the  poetry, 
the  religion,  the  superstition  woven  by  the  humble  Amerind  into  her 
basket. 

Capt.  J.  G.  Bourke  in  his  "Apache  Campaign,"  speaks  of  Indians 
of  that  tribe  who  "are  happy  in  the  possession  of  priceless  sashes  and 
shirts  of  buckskin,  upon  which  are  emblazoned  the  signs  of  the  sun,, 
moon,  lightning,  rainbow,  hail,  fire,  the  water-beetle,  butterfly,  snake, 
centipede  and  other  powers  to  which  they  may  appeal  for  aid  in  the 
hour  of  distress."  And  he  might  have  added  to  this  that  the  women, 
in  their  basketry,  incorporate  exactly  the  same  signs  for  the  same  pur 
pose.  Many  of  these  signs  and  symbols  are  to  be  found  in  the  Apache 
collection  of  baskets  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
New  York.  They  were  donated  to  the  museum  by  Mr.  Douglas,  of  the 
Queen  Copper  Company,  and  were  collected  from  the  Apaches  on  the 
San  Carlos  Reservation,  Arizona,  by  a  trader  there. 

I  have  but  few  illustrations  to  elucidate  this  idea,  yet  these  are  suffi 
cient  to  demonstrate  the  existence  of  the  highest  faculties  of  the  soul. 
These,  too,  will  serve  to  stimulate  others  to  a  true  and  full  interpret 
ation  of  designs  that  otherwise  have  little  or  no  significance.  Farrand 
speaks  of  certain  Thompson  designs  which  represent  the  dream 
visions  of  the  weavers.  Could  we  get  at  a  full  statement  of  these  visions 
how  instructive  and  interesting  they  might  be. 

It  was  from  the  basket  held  in  the  hands  of  Jose  Pedro  Lucero, 
Fig.  305,  that  I  gained  my  first  sight  into,  and  delicious  draught  from, 
this  deep  poetic  well.  Lucero's  wife  was  one  of  the  few  basket  makers 
left  at  Saboba,  near  San  Jacinto,  California,  and  in  this  basket  she  wove 
the  legendary  history  of  her  people.  The  story  told  was  as  follows : 
"Before  my  people  came  here  they  lived  far,  far  away  in  the  land  that 
is  in  the  heart  of  the  setting  sun.  But  Siwash,  our  great  god,  told 
Uuyot,  the  warrior  captain  of  my  people,  that  we  must  come  away  from 
this  land  and  sail  away  and  away  in  a  direction  that  he  would  give  us. 
Under  Uuyot's  orders  my  people  built  big  boats  and  then,  with  Siwash 
himself  leading  them,  and  with  Uuyot  as  captain,  they  launched  them 
into  the  ocean  and  rowed  away  from  the  shore.  There  was  no  light  on 
the  ocean.  Everything  was  covered  with  a  dark  fog  and  it  was  only 
by  singing  as  they  rowed  that  the  boats  were  enabled  to  keep  together. 

It  was  still  dark  and  foggy  when  the  boats  landed  on  the  shores  of 
this  land,  and  my  ancestors  groped  about  in  the  darkness,  wondering 
why  they  had  been  brought  hither.  Then,  suddenly,  the  heavens  open 
ed,  and  lightnings  flashed  and  thunders  roared  and  the  rains  fell,  and 
a  great  earthquake  shook  all  the  earth.  Indeed,  all  the  elements  of 
earth,  ocean  and  heaven  seemed  to  be  mixed  up  together,  and  with 


THP:    POETRY    OP    INDIAN    BASKETRY.  2I9 

terror  in  their  hearts,  and  silence  on  their  tongues  my  people  stood  still 
awaiting  what  would  happen  further.  Though  no  voice  had  spoken 
they  knew  something  was  going  to  happen,  and  they  were  breathless  in 
their  anxiety  to  know  what  it  was.  Then  they  turned  to  Uuyot  and 
asked  him  what  the  raging  of  the  elements  meant.  Gently  he  calmed 
their  fears  and  bade  them  be  silent  and  wait.  As  they  waited,  a  terrible 
clap  of  thunder  rent  the  very  heavens  and  the  vivid  lightning  revealed 
the  frightened  people  huddling  together  as  a  pack  of  sheep.  But  Uuyot 
stood  alone,  brave  and  fearless,  and  daring  the  anger  of  Those  Above.' 
With  a  loud  voice  he  cried  out :  'Wit-i-a-ko !'  which  signified  'Who's 
there;'  'What  do  you  want?'  There  was  no  response.  The  heavens 
were  silent !  The  earth  was  silent !  The  ocean  was  silent !  All  nature 
was  silent!  Then  with  a  voice  full  of  tremulous  sadness  and  loving 
yearning  for  his  people  Uuyot  said :  'My  children,  my  own  sons  and 
daughters,  something  is  wanted  of  us  by  "Those  Above."  What  it  is 
I  do  not  know.  Let  us  gather  together  and  bring  "pivat,"  and  with  it 
make  the  big  smoke  and  then  dance  and  dance  until  we  are  told  what 
is  required  of  us.'  ': 

So  the  people  brought  "pivat" — a  native  tobacco  that  grows  in 
Southern  California — and  Uuyot  brought  the  big  ceremonial  pipe 
which  he  had  made  out  of  rock,  and  he  soon  made  the  big  smoke  and 
blew  the  smoke  up  into  the  heavens  while  he  urged  the  people  to  dance. 
They  danced  hour  after  hour,  until  they  grew  tired,  and  Uuyot  smoked 
all  the  time,  but  still  he  urged  them  to  dance. 

Then  he  called  out  again  to  'Those  Above :'  'Witiako !'  but  could 
obtain  no  response.  This  made  him  sad  and  disconsolate,  and  when 
the  people  saw  Uuyot  sad  and  disconsolate  they  became  panic-stricken, 
ceased  to  dance  and  clung  around  him  for  comfort  and  protection. 
But  poor  Uuyot  had  none  to  give.  He  himself  was  the  saddest  and 
most  forsaken  of  all,  and  he  got  up  and  bade  the  people  leave  him  alone, 
as  he  wished  to  walk  to  and  fro  by  himself.  Then  he  made  the  people 
smoke  and  dance,  and  when  they  rested  they  knelt  in  a  circle  and 
prayed.  But  he  walked  away  by  himself,  feeling  keenly  the  refusal  of 
'Those  Above'  to  speak  to  him.  His  heart  was  deeply  wounded. 

But,  as  the  people  prayed  and  danced  and  sang,  a  gentle  light  came 
stealing  into  the  sky  from  the  far,  far  east.  Little  by  little  the  darkness 
was  driven  away.  First  the  light  was  grey,  then  yellow,  then  white, 
and  at  last  the  glittering  brilliancy  of  the  sun  filled  all  the  land  and  cov 
ered  the  sky  with  glory.  The  sun  had  arisen  for  the  first  time,  and  in  its 
light  and  warmth  my  people  knew  they  had  the  favor  of  Those 
Above,'  and  they  were  contented  and  happy. 

But  when  Siwash,  the  god  of  earth,  looked  around  and  saw  every 
thing  revealed  by  the  sun,  he  was  discontented,  for  the  earth  was  bare 
and  level  and  monotonous  and  there  was  nothing  to  cheer  the  sight. 
So  he  took  some  of  the  people  and  of  them  he  made  high  mountains, 
and  of  some,  smaller  mountains.  Of  some  he  made  rivers  and  creeks 
and  lakes  and  waterfalls,  and  of  others,  coyotes,  foxes,  deer,  antelope, 
bear,  squirrels,  porcupines  and  all  the  other  animals.  Then  he  made 
out  of  other  people  all  the  different  kinds  of  snakes  and  reptiles  and 
insects  and  birds  and  fishes.  Then  he  wanted  trees  and  plants  and 
flowers,  and  he  turned  some  of  the  people  into  these  things.  Of  every 
man  or  woman  that  he  seized  he  made  something  according  to  its 
value.  When  he  had  done  he  had  used  up  so  many  people  he  was 


22O  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

scared.  So  he  set  to  work  and  made  a  new  lot  of  people,  some  to  live 
here  and  some  to  live  everywhere.  And  he  gave  to  each  family  its  own 
language  and  tongue  and  its  own  place  to  live,  and  he  told  them  where 
to  live  and  the  sad  distress  that  would  come  upon  them  if  they  mixed 
up  their  tongues  by  intermarriage.  Each  family  was  to  live  in  its  own 
place  and  while  all  the  different  families  were  to  be  friends  and  live  as 
brothers,  tied  together  by  kinship,  amity  and  concord,  there  was  to  be 
no  mixing  of  bloods. 

Thus  were  settled  the  original  inhabitants  on  the  coast  of  Southern 
California  by  Siwash,  the  god  of  the  earth,  and  under  the  captaincy 
of  Uuyot." 

In  the  basket  the  circles  representing  the  villages  of  the  Sabobas 
are  seen,  and  the  link  that  binds  them  together.  Above  this  design 
is  the  representation  of  the  mountains  and  valleys  in  which  their  vil 
lages  were  located,  and  peeping  over  the  latter  may  be  seen  figures 
which  represent  sun,  moon,  evening  and  raorning  star,  etc.,  which 
assured  the  simple-hearted  Sabobas  that  "Those  Above"  had  not  de 
serted  them. 

I  once  found  another  basket  at  Saboba  with  stitches  and  cross 
stitches  upon  it,  making  a  criss-cross  design  that  seemed  as  if  it  could 
not  be  imitative,  conventionalized,  symbolic  or  ideographic.  Yet  as  1 
talked  with  Juana  Apapos,  its  maker,  a  bright,  witty,  elderly  woman, 
I  was  convinced  that  it  had  its  meaning.  For  a  long  time  she  parried 
all  my  questions,  with  the  Indian's  dread  of  being  laughed  at  or  derided, 
but,  at  length,  convinced  that  I  should  not  ridicule  her  she  said  that 
"over  and  over  again  when  she  was  weary  and  tired,  and  angered  at 
the  subjection  of  her  people  to  the  rude  and  domineering  whites,  as 
she  lay  down  at  night,  her  eyes  wandered  to  the  'long  path  of  gray  light 
in  the  sky' — the  milky  way — and  she  felt  she  would  like  to  pass  away, 
to  die.  Then  her  spirit  would  walk  on  this  path  of  light  with  'Those 
Above,'  and  from  thence  she  could  look  down  upon  the  white  people 
in  the  sorrows  she  hoped  would  come  upon  them  for  their  wicked 
treatment  of  her  people." 

The  mingled  pathos,  indignation  and  anger  with  which  she  said 
these  things  showed  the  deep  current  of  feeling  which  possessed  her, 
though  she  was  living  among  surroundings  of  poverty  and  squalor, 
and  had  a  physiognomy  that,  to  the  general  visitor  to  her  village,  con 
tained  nothing  but  the  low,  grovelling,  animal,  and  sensual. 

This  criss-cross  pattern  was  her  method  of  representing  the  milky- 
way. 

Some  years  ago  I  sought  to  find  the  meaning  of  a  similar  design 
upon  a  certain  Zuni  head-dress,  worn  in  one  of  their  mystic  dances. 
At  last,  after  pledging  myself  not  to  laugh  at  the  answer,  I  was  asked 
what  the  white  man  called  that  "up  in  the  sky,  all  same  sprinkled  with 
white  ashes,"  and  when  I  explained  it  was  "the  milky  way,"  I  was 
informed  that  that  was  the  meaning  of  the  design  that  had  so  puzzled 
me,  thus  revealing  a  keen  observation  of  the  heavens  in  Zuni  as  well 
as  Saboba. 

Another  most  fascinating  basket  is  the  one  held  in  the  hands  of 
the  woman  in  Fig.  307.  It  is  well  known  to  all  who  have  studied  the 
facts  and  fictions  of  "H.  H.'s"  wonderful  novel  "Ramona,"  that  the 
pages  that  describe  the  shooting  of  Alessandro  by  Jim  Farrar  are  based 
on  fact.  Indeed,  taking  the  Indian's  side  of  the  story,  they  are  literally 


\ 

THE  POETRY  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 


221 


FIG.    307.     RAMONA   AND    HER    STAR    BASKET. 
Copyright  by  George  Wharton  James. 


FIG.   308.     COLLECTION  OF  DR.  C.   C.   WAINWRIGHT,    SAN  JACINTO,   CAL. 


222  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

true.  The  woman  of  this  part  of  the  story  is  still  living  at  the  village  of 
Cahuilla,  in  the  San  Jacinto  mountains,  where  "H.  H."  located  the 
scene  as  it  transpired  in  her  novel.  For  some  years  I  have  known 
Ramona,  and  on  several  occasions  have  photographed  her.  On  my 
last  visit  to  Cahuilla,  in  the  summer  of  1900,  I  purchased  several  bas 
kets  from  a  weaver,  one  of  which  had  a  large  star  in  the  center.  When 
I  asked  her  for  an  interpretation  of  this  design  she  said  she  did  not 
make  the  basket  and  therefore  knew  nothing  of  the  weaver's  thought. 
But  though  1  urged  her  she  refused  to  tell  me  who  made  the  basket. 
That  afternoon  Ramona  came  to  my  wagon  to  tell  into  my  graphophone 
the  story  of  the  shooting  of  her  husband.  While  I  prepared  the  ma 
chine  she  looked  over  the  various  baskets  I  had  bought,  and,  suddenly, 
darting  upon  this  star  basket,  breathlessly  asked  me  where  1  had 
bought  her  basket.  "Your  basket,  Ramona?''  I  queried.  "How  is  it 
yours  ?  I  bought  it  from  Rosario."  "Ah !"  she  replied.  "It  is  mine,  I 
make  it,  then  I  sell  it." 

The  next  day  when  I  went  down  to  her  little  cabin  I  took  the  bas 
ket  with  me,  but  she  would  tell  me  nothing  of  it  until  later.  Then  I 
learned  the  interesting  story,  which  was  somewhat  as  follows : 

"Sometimes  I  cannot  sleep  when  I  lie  down  at  night.  I  see  again 
that  awful  man  coming  over  the  hill  with  his  gun  in  his  hand  and  I 
hear  the  shot  as  he  fired  at  my  husband.  Then  I  see  him  pull  his 
revolver,  and  hear  his  vile  curses,  as  he  shot  again  and  again  at  the 
dead  body.  And  I  look  up  into  the  sky  and  my  face  is  wet  with  tears 
and  I  try  to  think  of  what  the  good  padre  tells  me  that  I  shall  some  day 
go  up  there  somewhere  and  be  with  Juan  again.  I  hope  so,  for  I  love 
the  stars,  and  when  I  begin  to  think  of  being  up  there  my  sorrow  ceases 
and  I  am  soon  asleep." 

"But,"  I  asked,  "why  did  you  sell  the  basket,  Ramona?  If  it  gave 
you  comfort,  why  didn't  you  keep  it?" 

"Ah!''  she  replied,  "I  wait  a  long,  long  time.  I  want  to  go  many 
times,  but  I  no  go.  I  stay  here.  I  no  want  to  stav  here.  I  grow  tired 
waiting.  Basket  say  I  go,  I  no  go.  Basket  heap  lie.  I  no  like'em, 
so  I  sell  'em,"  and  with  a  despairing  gesture  she  threw  the  basket  away 
from  her,  as  if  she  had  thrown  away  all  hope  of  ever  reaching  her  poor 
murdered  husband  in  the  region  of  "the  above"  which  the  good  priest 
had  endeavored  to  describe  to  her.  Poor  Ramona,  she  is  not  the  only 
human  being  who  has  grown  weary  of  the  battle  and  conflict  of  life  and 
longed  to  depart  hence. 

The  basket  into  which  the  old  Indian  woman  is  gazing,  shown  in 
Fig.  306,  is  more  interesting  than  at  first  sight  one  would  suppose. 
The  design  represents  flying  bats.  These  nocturnal  pests  had  gained 
access  into  the  sleeping  room  of  the  old  woman  and  were  "sucking  her 
breath  away,"  so  that  she  would  soon  die.  She  made  the  basket  to 
hold  the  propitiatory  offerings  that  she  intended  to  give  to  the  powers 
who  controlled  the  bats,  in  order  that  they  would  heed  her  prayer,  and 
keep  the  vermin  away  from  her.  With  naive  simplicity  and  perfect 
faith  she  assured  me  that  since  she  had  made  the  offerings  in  this 
specially  designed  basket  the  bats  had  ceased  to  trouble  her. 

Fig.  308  represents  a  portion  of  the  collection  of  Dr.  C.  C.  Wain- 
wright,  of  San  Jacinto,  Cal.  On  the  large  carrying  basket,  in  which  the 
doctor's  little  son  would  sit  while  I  was  making  the  photograph,  are  a 
number  of  concentric  rings,  which  diminish  in  size  as  the  bottom  of 


THE    POETRY    OF   INDIAN    BASKETRY.  223 

the  basket  is  reached,  and  there  give  place  to  a  single  dot.  With  touch 
ing  pathos  the  maker  said  she  intended  that  the  lessening  circles 
should  describe  the  diminishing  power  and  numbers  of  her  people. 
Said  she :  "When  my  people  first  came  here  they  were  under  the  direct 
smile  and  approval  of  'Those  Above.'  They  were  a  great  people  and 
the  large  circle  represents  their  power  and  influence  at  that  time. 
But  as  the  years  rolled  on  the  Padres  (Spanish  missionaries)  came  and 
they  took  away  first  one,  then  another  of  the  privileges  of  my  people 
until  they  were  reduced  to  this  size,  and  this,  and  this,  (pointing  to  the 
diminishing  size  of  the  circle).  Thus,  when  the  Mexicans  drove  out 
the  Spaniards,  they  were  too  weak  to  fight  with  and  overcome  them ; 
so  once  again  their  power  was  curtailed  and  this  circle  represents  their 
diminished  grandeur. 

Then  the  Americans  came  and  finished  the  demoralization  begun 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  now  this  tiny  circle  represents  my  people,  and 
soon,  alas  !  very  soon,  nothing  will  be  required  but  this  dot  to  represent 
a  once  proud  and  great  race  that  surrounded  the  earth." 


FIG.    269.      BASKET    USED    IN    DICE    GAMES. 


324  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
BASKETS   TO    BE   PRIZED. 

If  from  what  I  have  written  or  quoted  in  the  foregoing  pages 
there  has  not  been  enough  said  to  show  that  there  are  some  baskets 
which  have  peculiar  and  distinctive  claims,  nothing  that  I  can  now 
write  will  have  any  effect.  It  is  is  merely  to  more  fully  emphasize  what 
is  there  written  that  this  chapter  finds  place. 

Broadly  it  may  be  said  that  the  baskets  most  highly  prized  by  intel 
ligent  collectors  are  the  older  specimens  of  the  work  of  all  the  Mission 
Indians,  the  Yokuts,  Pomas,  Klamath,  Haida,  Salish  Stock ,  Makah 
and  Attu  peoples  of  the  Pacific  coast,  and  of  the  Apaches,  Cheme- 
huevis,  Hopi,  Havasupais,  Pimas  and  Paiutis  in  Arizona  and  there 
abouts. 

Individual  tastes  vary,  necessarily,  but  no  one  can  look  upon  such 
baskets  as  those  of  the  Campbell  private  collection,  pictured  in 
Figs.  15,  79  and  297,  or  those  of  the  Plimpton  collection,  Figs. 
27,28,45,  46,  50,  51,  52,  53,  74,  76,  77,  86,  87,  271  and  275,  or  the 
Wilcomb  collection,  Fig.  94,  or  the  one  selection  from  the  beautiful 
McLeod  collection,  Fig.  270,  as  well  as  many  others  herein  pictured, 
and  not  see  that  their  makers  displayed  exquisite  taste  in  shape,  con- 
mate  skill  in  weave,  artistic  conception  in  ornamentation,  and,  if  the 
exact  colors  could  be  reproduced,  an  appreciation  of  the  harmony  of 
colors  that  few  Americans  can  surpass. 

Baskets  of  this  class  are  prizes,  and  well  selected  collections  contain 
specimens  of  all  the  weaves  thus  typified. 

Mrs.  Carr  thus  wrote  of  the  charm  of  old  basketry :  "Jacmta»  one 
of  the  last  surviving  neophytes  of  Father  Junipero  Serra's  flock,  was 
brought  to  Pasadena  in  1888,  with  all  the  materials  and  implements 
of  basketry,  to  assist  in  illustrating  it  during  an  Art  Loan  Exhibition. 
Passing  up  the  nave  of  the  Library  Building,  where  Navaho  blankets 
and  the  fine  Crittenden  Collection  of  Indian  Curiosities  from  the  Gulf 
of  California  to  Alaska,  attracted  attention,  the  dim  old  eyes  of  Jacinta 
(ell  upon  the  display  of  basketry.  It  was  touching  to  see  her  interest 
aroused  as  she  gradually  recognized  her  own  work,  which  she  took 
(rom  the  shelves,  fondling  it  with  her  small  brown  hands,  as  a  mother 
would  linger  over  the  playthings  of  a  dead  child.  Whenever  the  crowd 
diminished,  Jacinta  was  seen  examining  her  treasures,  which  were 
woven  early  in  the  century.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  such  a 
collection  will  ever  again  be  gathered,  as  since  that  time  the  State  has 
been  ransacked  for  baskets  in  the  interest  of  Eastern  and  foreign  col 
lections  and  of  speculators  for  their  artistic  value.  There  yet  remain  a 
tew  valuable  private  collections  in  the  possession  of  owners  notably 
Interested  in  the  perpetuation  of  this  beautiful  art.  There  is  an  indes 
cribable  magnetism  attaching  to  them  altogether  different  from  any 
other  feminine  property.  Collectors  and  dealers  find  it  harder  to  part 
with  them  than  with  articles  of  far  greater  value,  and  reserve  certain 
favorites  for  the  elect  among  customers,  who  are  likely  to  cherish 
tiiem." 


BASKETS  TO  BE   PRIZED. 


22S 


The  true  passion  of  the  basket  collector  is  made  the  theme  of  a 
charming  little  story  in  Scribners  for  August,  1890,  by  Grace  Ellery 
Channing-Stetson.  It  opens  "Sixteen  in  all.  Five  large  ones,  two 
small  queer  ones,  four  medium,  three  with  the  Greek  pattern,  the  little 
brown  one,  and  this  beauty."  Then  comes  the  sting.  The  proud  col 
lector  is  told  that  she  "has  as  fine  a  lot  of  baskets  now  as  anyone  in 
the  valley,  saving  only  old  Anita.  Ah !  if  the  Senorita  could  see 
hers — !"  Yes,  indeed,  hers  was  three  feet  high  and  "fine" — he  cast 
a  disdainful  glance  at  the  baskets  about  her — "you  have  nothing  like 
it,  Senorita.  But  that  is  not  all.  Where  the  pattern  goes  there  are 
feathers — woodpeckers'  feathers  woven  in,  all  of  the  brightest 
scarlet — oh,  far  gayer  than  these!"  Or,  as  the  collector's  true  cavalier 
described  it :  "Its  majesty  would  stand,  I  think,  about  three  feet  high. 
It  was  very  quaintly  shaped.  It  was  the  finest  I  have  ever  seen.  There 
was  a  beguiling,  mellow-brown  tone  to  the  whole,  which  attested  its 
honorable  age,  and  a  most  seductive  pattern  climbing  about  its  sides. 
But  there  was  something  more — a  gleam  of  scarlet  about  it  which 
gave  it  character." 

And  the  ten  interesting  pages  tell  us  how,  finally,  Anita's  basket  did 
come  into  the  possession  of  the  ardent  and  infatuated  collector. 

Dr.  Hudson  says :  "There  are  ten  graded  rules  governing  a  'basket 
crank'  in  estimating  the  value  of  a  Poma  basket.  Given  in  the  order 
of  their  importance  they  are:  weave,  symmetry  of  outline,  of  stitch, 
of  thread,  delicacy  of  thread,  material,  pattern,  ornamentation,  general 
effect  and  size.  Size  is  properly  placed  last  in  the  list,  because  a  shibu's 
diameter  is  seldom  greater  than  fifteen  inches.  However  there 
is  a  most  rare  specimen  in  a  Chicago  private  collection,  which  measures 
nine  feet  in  circumference,  and  for  which  was  paid  $800."  I  believe 
this  is  now  in  the  Field  Columbian  Museum. 


226  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  DECADENCE  OF  THE  ART. 

What  are  the  causes  that  have  led  to  the  rapid  decadence  of  the  art 
of  basketry  ?  There  can  be  but  one  broad  answer,  and  that  is  the  icon 
oclastic  effect  of  our  civilization  upon  a  simple-hearted  people.  The 
Amerind  is  not  far-sighted.  His  reasoning  faculties  are  not  ,as 
highly  developed  as  ours.  A  basket  takes  weeks,  months,  to  make. 
It  sells  for  few  or  many  dollars.  One  dollar  will  buy  several  tin, 
copper,  or  brass  utensils  that  serve  all  the  practical  (or  utilitarian)  pur 
poses  of  the  baskets,  even  better  than  the  baskets  themselves.  Hence 
the  utilitarian  forces  the  aesthetic  to  the  wall ;  drives  it  from  the  field, 
and  the  basket  disappears. 

In  the  high  noon-days  of  the  art,  the  woman  had  several  distinct 
motives  to  urge  her  to  the  highest  endeavor.  The  basket  was  her 
battle-field.  In  it  she  won  her  triumphs  or  suffered  her  defeats.  To 
be  the  best  weaver  of  her  family  was  the  height  of  her  early  ambition, 
to  be  the  head  weaver  of  her  tribe,  the  aim  of  her  mature  life,  and  to  be 
recognized  as  the  leader  of  leaders  of  other  tribes,  the  satisfaction  of  the 
highest  possible  life  ambition.  Then,  too,  in  her  ability  as  a  weaver, 
a  keen-sensed  woman  saw  other  advantages  than  the  mere  gratifica 
tion  of  personal,  family  or  tribal  ambition.  To  gain  the  high  approval 
of  others  meant  an  increase  of  power  and  influence.  To  be  a  good 
weaver  was  of  practical  advantage,  just  as  to  be  an  accomplished  piano 
player,  conversationalist  or  housekeeper,  is  an  advantage  to  a  young 
lady  among  civilized  peoples.  Men,  ever  and  always,  whether 
white  or  red,  are  looking  for  wives,  and  a  wife  that  can 
do  something  better  than  other  women  possesses  a  charm  and  a 
power  those  others  do  not  possess.  This  law  operated  forcefully 
among  the  simple  Amerinds  where  there  were  fewer  opportunities  for 
the  manifestation  of  power  and  ability  than  are  possessed  by  the  civil 
ized.  To  be  a  good  weaver,  therefore,  meant  plenty  of  suitors,  and  the 
woman  of  many  suitors  has  greater  opportunities  of  choice  than  she 
who  has  few  at  her  feet. 

Of  course  there  would  always  be  those  who  did  the  best  they  could 
in  order  to  gratify  the  dawning  and  growing  aesthetic  sense.  These 
were  the  true  artists ;  the  true  preservers  of  the  ideals ;  the  constant 
setters-up  of  standards  which  their  less  artistic  friends  eagerly  sought 
to  reach,  for  the  more  practical  advantages  I  have  suggested. 

And  this  was  the  condition  of  the  art  when  outside  influences  began 
to  be  felt ;  first  Spanish,  then  Mexican,  Russian,  French,  English, 
American,  in  speedy  succession.  The  over-powering  of  the  esthetic 
by  the  utilitarian  I  have  already  shown.  Side  by  side  with  this  des 
tructive  spirit  has  grown  up  another  equally  demoralizing.  That  is  the 
spirit  of  mere  commercialism,  alas !  so  prevalent  among  so-called  civ 
ilized  peoples,  and  that  John  Ruskin  wrote  so  powerfully,  indignantly, 
and,  at  times,  pathetically,  against.  How  many  men  and  women  in 
shop  and  factory,  mill  and  foundry,  labor  with  definite  love  for  their 
work?  Far  too  few.  In  cases  without  end  it  is  merely  drudgery; 
so  many  hours  to  get  through  with  somehow,  with  as  little  expenditure 


THE  DECADEMCE  OP  THE  ART.  227 

of  energy  as  possible.  Ten  hours  work  mean,  not  so  much  progress  in 
my  art  to  my  own  and  my  employer's  advantage,  but  so  many  dollars 
and  cents.  This  spirit  has  begun  to  possess  the  Amerind  weaver.  She 
no  longer  does  her  work  fondly  and  with  true  love.  It  matters  not 
wnat,  to  her,  she  uses  in  her  ware  so  long  as  she  can  make  something 
that  will  sell.  Durability,  beauty,  artistic  form,  harmony  of  coloring , 
following  her  own  ideal  fancies,  these  things  mean  nothing.  The  main 
questions  are:  "Will  it  sell?"  and  "For  how  much?"  As  a  result  we 
see  the  wretched  aniline  dyes  desecrating  aboriginal  work,  and  torn- 
foot  imitations  of  white  men's  designs  &c.,  taking  the  place  of  the  old 
worshippings  at  Nature's  shrine. 

Indeed,  as  Dr.  Hudson  well  expresses  it:  "During  the  wet  season, 
when  food  and  work  are  scarce,  the  majella  ±s  forced  to  weave  salable 
baskets  in  order  to  support  her  family.  Her  heart  is  not  in  this  task, 
but  improvidence  or  gambling  has  dissipated  the  earnings  of  last 
season.  What  was  once  her  grandmother's  chief  delight  has  now 
become  a  labor,  for  she  knows  that  when  her  w^rk  leaves  her  hand 
it  contributes  another  pleasure  to  the  white  man,  or  coin  to  his  pocket. 
To  what  extent  our  artistic  world  concurs  in  this  belief  she  little  knows. 

All  (Indian)  baskets  correctly  may  be  classified  under  just  two 
heads — baskets  made  to  sell  and  baskets  not  made  to  sell.  An  expert 
in  this  line  can  detect  the  difference  at  ten  feet ;  even  a  novice  will  note 
it  on  slight  inspection.  It  matters  not  what  weave  is  employed,  the 
most  difficult  or  the  coarsest,  whether  it  be  a  basket  of  use  or  a  gaudy 
ti,  old  01  new,  the  counterfeit  will  expose  itself  to  the  initiated.  Do 
not  believe  for  a  moment  that  a  majella  will  furnish  you  goods  of  as 
fine  a  class  as  she  makes  for  herself.  She  invariably  infers  you  know 
nothing  of  quality,  and  charges  in  proportion  to  the  breadth  of  your 
ignorance  or  length  of  your  purse,  maybe  both.  She  is  no  fool ;  for 
more  than  a  whole  generation  she  has  been  a  pupil  in  our  school  of 
finance  and  deception.  She  has  blood  in  her  veins  very  similar  to 
o'irs,  else  her  complexion  strangely  misinterprets.  Why  not  grant  her 
the  law-giver*  privilege  we  have  always  enjoyed,  of  taking  all  she  can  in 
safety?  However,  you  may  depend  upon  it, though  the  price  may  appear 
exorbitant,  you  will  get  value  received,  if  labor,  eye-taxing  labor,  is 
taken  into  consideration. 

To  a  "basket  crank"  a  salable  basket  possesses  no  attractions. 
Inferior  material,  faulty  patterns,  spaces  between  stitches,  exposed  ends 
of  threads,  each  and  all  proclaim  carelessness,  and  when  an  unsymmet- 
rical  outline  is  added  to  these,  his  cup  of  contempt  overflows.  Deteri 
oration  In  basket  excellence  must  be  expected  in  the  decadence  of  their 
makers.  If  there  is  any  one  cause  more  responsible  than  others  for  this 
inferiority  ;'  is  the  rapacity  of  the  basket  speculators.  Four  years  ago> 
when  the  jViendocino  Indian  basket  first  made  itself  known  and  appre 
ciated  by  lovers  of  the  unique,  a  speculator  came  up  from  San  Fran 
cisco  to  investigate.  Within  a  radius  of  six  miles  from  Ukiah  there 
lay  five  rancherias,  and  it  is  said  by  their  inhabitants  that  this  man 
bought,  or  rather  pilfered,  two  thousand  baskets  during  his  brief  stay. 
His  ideas  of  barter  were  models  and  marvels  of  simplicity  and  effective 
ness.  Entering  a  native  "shah"  he  would  select  whatever  could  be 
found  to  suit  his  taste,  despite  the  loud  protests  of  the  owners,  and 
what  could  not  be  purchased  at  his  own  price  was  seized  upon  as 
1awful  plunder,  and  a  few  small  coins  thrown  upon  the  floor  left  the 


228  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

only  visible  evidence  of  his  unwelcome  visit.  His  depredations  ex 
tended  north  as  far  as  Covelo,  where  fortunately  his  true  merits  were 
recognized  and  rewarded  by  the  government  agent,  who  promptly 
kicked  him  out  of  the  reservation.  These  raids  have  been  occasionally 
repeated  with  rapidly  decreasing  success.  The  Indian,  after  all  his 
treasure  has  gone,  has  realized  his  own  simplicity  and  cowardice. 

The  lesson  has  proven  severe,  mentally  as  well  as  financially,  for 
with  those  rare  old  family  heirlooms  the  incentive  to  weave  similar 
ones  has  disappeared.  There  are  a  few  specimens  in  private  collections 
of  weaves  once  well  known  and  much  used  by  the  Pomas  that  have 
now  become  obsolete.  Of  all  this  mongrel  brood  there  are  only  seven 
"majellas"  that  still  emulate  the  examples  of  their  grandmothers  in 
conscientious,  skillful  weaving.  Work  from  their  hands  is  altogether 
a  different  affair  from  baskets  made  to  sell,  being  planned,  woven  and 
finished  with  but  one  object  in  view,  personal  use.  These  constitute  the 
class  referred  to,  baskets  not  made  to  sell,  and  hard  indeed  must  be  her 
straits  before  parting  with  them.  A  stranger  never  sees  them;  even 
confidence  in  those  she  knows  and  respects  must  be  strong  before  her 
treasures  are  allowed  inspection. 

Before  you  lies  the  subject  most  interesting  to  the  majellas'  mind, 
and,  next  to  her  animate  children  these  beautiful  products  of  care  and 
patient  labor  are  nearest  her  heart.  Hold  up  this  plate-shaped  basket 
in  a  favorable  light ;  from  bottom  to  rim  a  sheen  of  gold  and  purple  is 
reflected  like  the  plumage  of  some  rare  tropical  bird.  She  calls  it 
"doowy  pekah,"  or  moon  basket.  Surely  the  idea  'is  pretty,  and  the 
effect  consistent,  though  the  colors  may  not  be  artistically  correct. 
The  greenish  plumes  of  the  summer  duck  are  woven  in  so  closely 
that  no  glimpse  of  the  sustaining  mesh  can  be  seen,  making  a  soft  uni 
form  back  ground  for  zigzag  lines  of  the  more  brilliant  woodpecker. 
All  is  blended  like  pigment  from  a  deft  brush;  the  rim  is  encircled 
with  a  row  of  wampum,  under  whose  snowy  edges  droop  the  pride  of 
our  valley  quail.  Pendants  of  strung  beads  tipped  with  polished  bits 
of  abalone  shell  complete  the  effect,  and  no  suggestion  -s  needed  by 
our  imagination  in  finding  their  originals  in  the  twinkle  of  stars. 

"How  many  ducks'  heads  are  in  this,  Guadaloupe?" 

Nine  fingers  are  extended  in  answer. 

"How  many  kartot  (woodpecker)  ?" 

Both  hands  are  raised  thrice  and  still  two  fingers  more." 
In  Fig.  693  on  page  70  I  have  introduced  a  photograph  of  some 
girls  of  the  Yokut  nation,  at  the  Tule  River  Reservation,  California, 
whose  parents  have  insisted  upon  their  learning  the  art.  As  I  have 
before  remarked  elsewhere,  the  young  women  and  girls  often  refuse 
to  learn,  hence  the  art  is  rapidly  dying  out.  But  the  mother  of  the 
three  girls  here  shown,  when  I  spoke  to  her  upon  the  subject,  said 
in  effect:  "No !  I  don't  want  my  girls  to  grow  up  ignorant  of  one  of 
the  arts  that  my  ancestors  learned  in  the  years  when  the  world  was 
young.  Too  many  young  girls  go  wrong  because  they  don't  have  the 
right  kind  of  work.  Mine  shall  learn  to  make  baskets  as  I  can.  (And 
she,  by  the  way,  is  one  of  the  best  weavers  on  the  reservation.)  These 
girls  hold  specimens  of  their  own  work,  and  some  of  their  baskets  I 
now  have  in  my  own  collection ;  they  show  care  and  a  keen  apprecia 
tion  of  color  and  design. 


HOW    THE    ART    MAT    BE    PRESERVED.  229 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
HOW  THE  ART  MAY  BE  PRESERVED. 

It  would  be  a  calamity  to  Indians  and  whites  alike  if  the  industrial 
art  of  basket  making  were  allowed  to  die.  Intelligent,  concentrated 
effort  can  save  it,  and  in  its  salvation  a  greater  good  can  be  done  the 
Indians  than  by  a  century's  distribution  of  rations  and  supplies. 
Let  the  Indian  know  that  she  must  be  self-supporting;  let  her  know 
that  every  basket  made  according  to  her  own  highest  traditions  can  find 
a  ready  market  at  a  reasonable  price ;  let  systematic  efforts  be  made  to 
encourage  the  mothers  to  teach  their  daughters,  and  the  daughters  to 
learn  from  their  mothers ;  teach  meddlesome  traders,  teachers,  and 
missionaries  that  true  art  does  not  consist  in  substituting  gaudy  ani 
line  colors  for  the  Indians'  own  dyes ;  teach  the  Indians  themselves 
the  worth  of  their  own  dyes  and  methods  of  work,  and  then  let  them 
receive  just  compensation  for  their  labor,  and  the  art  will  be  saved. 

A  friend  of  mine  not  long  ago  asked  a  lady  missionary  to  the 
Indians  if  she  encouraged  her  dusky  flock  in  the  work  of  basket  mak 
ing,  and  confessed  herself  almost  paralyzed  at  the  answer:  "No,  in 
deed  !  I  never  encourage  them  in  any  except  the  Christian  arts." 

And  this  wise  "saver  of  souls"  then  expatiated  on  the  saving;  power 
of  delicate  embroidery  and  such  like  work  as  compared  vv;th  the 
heathen  industry  of  basket  making.  The  idiotic  twaddle  and  sancti 
monious  nonsence  of  such  people  is  too  foolish  for  condemnation  were 
it  not  that,  to  the  undiscerning  Indians,  they  represent  the  best  elements 
of  the  white  race. 

On  every  reservation ;  in  every  school  under  the  control  of  the 
government,  arrangements  should  be  made  instantly  to  gather  together 
all  the  old  majellas  and  give  them  adequate  compensation  for  teaching 
the  young  girls  all  the  various  branches  of  the  art.  The  materials  used ; 
the  proper  time  to  gather  them ;  the  best  methods  of  preparing  them ; 
the  various  mineral  and  vegetable  dyes ;  the  best  mordants ;  the  various 
styles  of  weave ;  the  many  and  varied  shapes ;  the  sources  and  origins 
of  the  wonderful  diversity  of  design ;  all  these  things  should  be  taught. 
Then  let  intelligent  white  people  study  the  subject  and  suggest  im 
proved  methods  of  growing,  harvesting  and  preparing  the  necessary 
material.  Let  scientific  culture  direct  new  methods  of  securing  the 
permanent  and  beautiful  colors  of  the  native  dyes ;  and  then  leave  the 
Indian  alone  to  follow  the  bent  of  her  own  mind,  as  far  as  shape,  de 
sign  and  symbolism  are  concerned.  It  would  not  be  long,  were  these 
suggestions  carried  out,  ere  there  would  be  a  revival  of  the  art;  a 
true  renaissance,  from  which  Indian  and  white  would  alike  profit — 
profit  in  more  important  ways  than  the  merely  financial,  good  though 
that  alone  would  be. 


23°  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
HINTS  TO  THE  COLLECTOR. 

In  bringing  my  labors  to  a  close,  (which  to  me  at  least,  have  been 
exceedingly  interesting)  I  shall  be  pardoned  if  I  give  a  few  more  hints 
which  may  be  useful  to  collectors  in  addition  to  those  generally  scat 
tered  throughout  the  work. 

Experience  has  long  demonstrated  that  that  collector  who  purchases 
his  baskets  from  dealers  is  likely  to  be  misinformed  even  as  to  the 
simplest  matters  regarding  nis  acquisitions.  And  +.his  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at.  There  are  fe\\  dealers  who  have  either  the  time,  oppor 
tunity  or  desire  to  personally  study  the  weavers  ir  their  own  homes. 
The  field  occupied  by  the  oasket  weaver  is  a  large  one  and  it  would 
require  a  lifetime  to  thus  familiarize  one's  self  with  every  detail. 
Hence,  all  the  spirit  of  commercialism  will  allow  fhe  dealer  to  do  is  to 
gather  as  much  lore  as  he  can  from  those  who  collect  the  baskets  for 
him,  and  retail  it  out  to  his  customers  with  greater  or  lesser  accuracy 
as  his  memory  or  imagination  prompts. 

One  great  difficulty  that  often  arises  to  confuse  the  young  collector 
is  what  might  be  termed  the  "emigration"  of  the  basket.  As  I  have 
shown  in  writing  of  the  so-called  "Apacht1  medicine  basket,"  also 
known  as  the  "Navaho  Wedding  basket,"  the  basket  is  made  neither 
by  Apa^tie  or  Navaho,  but  by  Paiuti.  It  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
former  by  trading.  Yet  it  is  often  found  in  good  collections  labeled: 
''Made  by  a  Navaho,"  or  "An  Apache  b?*ket  made  in  Southern  Ari 
zona,"  both  of  which  labels  are  wrong  pad  misleading.  I  have  also 
found  many  Havasupai  baskets,  which,  having  been  bought  from  the 
Hopi  (or  Moki)  were  labeled  as  belong1' ng  to  and  made  by  the  latter 
people. 

Great  care,  therefore,  must  be  exer  -ised  in  determining  the  manu 
facture  of  a  basket.  Let  it  be  known  f  if  necessary)  from  whom  it  was 
purchased,  but  at  the  same  time,  do  not  let  the  purchaser  make  the 
assumption  that  because  it  was  pur  -hased  from  a  certain  tribe  it  was 
therefore  made  by  that  tribe. 

In  the  chapter  on  symbolism  I  have  shown  the  only  true  spirit  that 
.should  possess  the  collector  in  ga  hering  information  in  regard  to  the 
designs  of  desirable  baskets.  Go  always  to  original  sources  for  inform 
ation.  Don't  inject  your  interpretation  into  the  brain  of  the  weaver,  but 
let  her  tell  you  her  own  idea.  This  means  patience  and  diplomacy,  but 
the  time  and  energy  spent  are  generally  well  repaid. 

Discourage,  wherever  possible,  the  introduction  of  vicious  elements 
into  the  art,  such  as  those  pictured  in  Fig.  274.  Discourage  the  use 
of  aniline  dyes.  The  Indians  would  not  use  them  did  they  not  think 
white  purchasers  preferred  them.  On  my  last  visit  to  the  Havasupais 
I  refused  to  buy  any  basket  that  bore  any  other  than  their  own  native 
Colors.  When  brought  to  me  I  pointed  to  the  strips  or  patches  colored 
w.^h  native  dyes  and  exclaimed  "Ha-ni-gi" — good,  but  gave  a  frown  - 
ifgr  and  emphatic  "Ha-na-to-op-o-gi" — bad — to  every  intrusion  of  '<. 
foreign  color.  I  know  a  few  such  lessons  as  this  would  remedy  the 
evil  among  that  people  and  I  should  be  glad  to  know  of  similar  dis- 


HINTS  TO  THE  COLLECTOR.  23* 

couragement  offered  elsewhere.  Then  again,  it  is  well  never  to  pur 
chase  a  basket  that  is  evidently  made  for  sale  only.  Where  the  maker 
of  a  basket  has  a  definite  use  for  the  work  of  her  hands  it  means  some 
thing  to  her  more  than  a  mere  money-getting  proposition.  Something 
of  herself,  her  life,  her  thought,  is  put  into  that  which  she  expects  to 
use  in  her  home  life.  Just  as  that  expectant  mother  who  sews  upon 
the  diminutive  garments  that  are  to  clothe  the  little  stranger  upon  his 
arrival  adds  more  than  mere  stitches  to  the  linen  and  woolen  stuff,  so 
does  the  Indian  woman  to  the  basket  that  is  to  form  part  of  her  house 
hold  equipment.  A  trained  eye  can  generally  tell,  and  keen  fingers 
feel,  the  difference  between  a  basket  which  has  this  personal  factor 
connected  with  it,  this  sentiment,  and  the  collection  of  mere  coils  and 
stitches  winch  represents  a  certain  number  of  dollars.  In  work  of  the 
former  character  the  individuality  of  the  maker  is  more  likely  to  be 
shown ;  the  mode  of  thought  at  the  time  of  making  the  basket.  It  is 
thus  that  the  symbolism  of  the  design  has  meaning  and  reality.  It 
reflects  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  weaver  at  the  time  of  its  weaving. 
The  result  of  this  is  that  its  decorations  are  purely  Indian.  They  are 
not  made  to  please  white  men ;  they  are  the  expressions  of  the  Indian 
women's  thought,  hence  there  are  no  letters  or  words  or  numbers  or 
anything  that  denote  a  mere  anxiety  on  the  part  of  the  maker  to  catch 
the  eye  of  the  prospective  purchaser.  This  latter  spirit  means  the 
degradation  and  ruin  of  the  industry.  Hence  to  the  real  collector 
everything  that  savors  of  the  spirit  of  destruction  of  the  art  is  religiously 
eschewed. 

The  more  the  intelligent  and  conscientious  collector  studies  his 
baskets  the  more  they  will  mean  to  him.  Question  them  and  they  will 
tell  you  many  things.  As  you  sit  alone  with  them  they  will  bring  up 
pictures  of  forest,  desert,  canyon  and  village,  where  humble  huts  shelter 
simple  and  poetic  people — people  who  are  as  yet  "near  to  Nature's 
heart."  They  will  tell  you  of  art  and  religious  aspirations  and  longings, 
of  a  Nation's  struggling  from  the  lower  to  the  higher.  They  will 
reveal  the  steps  of  progress,  and  the  methods  followed  by  our  own  an 
cestry  as  they  evolved  from  savagery  to  civilization.  Thus  the  student 
is  led  to  a  keener  appreciation  of  the  solidarity  of  mankind,  and  to  a 
fuller  apprehension  of  that  doctrine,  which,  properly  understood  and 
lived,  is  to  be  man's  salvation,  viz. :  The  universal  brotherhood  of  man 
kind  and  the  consequent  fatherhood  of  God. 


232  INDIAN  BASKETRY  J 

/ 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY. 
BOOKS. 

All  the  Reports  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Washington,. 
D.  C. 

All  the  Reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  U.  S. 
National  Museum,  especially  "Basket-work  of  the  North  American 
Aborigines/'  by  Otis  T.  Mason,  Smith.  Inst.  Report,  1884.  Part  2, 
pp.  291-306  and  plates  I  to  LXIV. 

"The  Human  Beast  of  Burden,"  by  O.  T.  Mason,  in  Report  of 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  1887. 

"Primitive  Travel  and  Transportation,"  by  O.  T.  Mason,  Report 
of  U.  S.  National  Museum,  1894. 

All  the  reports  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs. 

"Navaho  Legends,  by  Washington  Matthews,  American  Folk 
Lore  Society. 

"The  Thompson  Indians  of  British  Columbia,"  by  James  Teit, 
Memoirs  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  2.,  part  4. 

"Basketry  Designs  of  the  Salish  Indians,"  by  Livingston  Farrand. 
Ditto,  Vol.  2.,  part  5. 

"Woman's  Share  in  Primitive  Culture,"  by  Otis  T.  Mason. 

"The  Beginnings  of  Writing,"  by  Walter  James  Hoffman. 

"The  Beginnings  of  Art,"  by  Ernest  Grosse. 

H.  H.  Bancroft's  Histories. 

Journal  of  American  Ethnology  and  Archaeology,  Vol.  4.  "The 
Snake  Ceremonials  at  Walpi,"  by  J.  Walter  Fewkes. 

"Old  Missions  and  Mission  Indians  of  California,"  by  George 
Wharton  James. 

"Ramona,"  by  H.  H.  Jackson. 

"A  Century  of  Dishonor,"  by  H.  H.  Jackson. 
"Tribes  of  California,"  by  Stephen  Powers. 

JOURNALS,   MAGAZINES   AND    NEWSPAPERS. 

Scribner's  Magazine,  August,  1890.  "The  Baskets  of  Anita,"  by 
Grace  Ellery  Channing. 

The  California  Illustrated  Magazine,  October,  1892.  "Among  the 
Basket  Makers,"  by  Jeanne  C.  Carr. 

American  Anthropologist,  October,  1892.  "A  Study  in  Butts  and 
Tips,"  by  Washington  Matthews. 

Overland  Monthly,  June,  1893.  "Porno  Basket  Makers,"  by  Dr. 
J.  W.  Hudson. 

American  Anthropologist,  October,  1893.  "The  Navaho,"  by  A. 
M.  Stephen. 

American  Anthropologist,  April,  1894.  "The  Basket  Drum,"  by 
Washington  Matthews. 

Harper's  Bazar,  September  i,  1894.  "Indian  Baskets,"  by  Eliza 
Ruhamah  Scidmore. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  INDIAN  BASKETRY.  233 

"The  Lost  Art  of  Indian  Basketry,"  by  Olive  May  Peroival.  Demo- 
rest's  Family  Magazine,  February,  1897. 

Journal  of  American  Folk  Lore,  April-June,  1899.  "Hopi  Basket 
Dances,"  by  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes. 

The  Traveler,  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  August,  1899.  "Symbolism 
in  Indian  Basketry,"  by  George  Wharton  James. 

Harpe/'s  Bazar,  Nov.  n,  1899.  "Last  Industry  of  a  Passing  Race,'' 
by  Ada  Woodruff  Anderson. 

San  Francisco  Chronicle,  December  3,  1899.  "The  Art  of  a  Passing 
Race." 

The  House  Beautiful,  February,  igoc..  'Aboriginal  Basketry  in 
the  United  States,"  by  Claudia  Stuart  Coles. 

rmierican  Anthropologist,  April-June,  1900.  "Basketry  Designs  of 
the  Maidu  Indians  of  California,"  by  Roland  B.  Dixon. 

"The  Pludson  Collection  of  Basketry,"  by  Otis  T.  Mason. 

Outing,  June,  1900.  "The  Hopi  Snake  Dance,"  by  George  Whar 
ton  James. 

"Types  of  American  Basketry,"  by  O.  T.  Mason.  Scientific  Ameri 
can,  N.  Y.,  July  28,  1900. 

The  Evening  Lamp,  Chicago,  111.,  September  8,  1900.  "Poems  in 
Indian  Baskets,"  by  George  Wharton  James. 

The  Cosmopolitan,  October,  1900.  "How  Indian  Baskets  are 
Made,"  bv  H.  M.  Carpenter. 

Brief  reference  to  Indian  Baskets  in  "Irish  Letter"  in  Lady's  Pic 
torial,  London,  Nov.  3,  1900. 

The  Outlook,  January  12,  1901.  "Indian  Industrial  Development," 
by  Mrs.  F  N.  Doubleday. 

"The  Technique  of  Amerindian  Basketry,"  by  O.  T.  Mason.  Paper 
read  before  the  A.  A.  A.  S.,  Baltimore,  Dec.  27.,  1900,  and  printed  in 
American  Anthropologist,  January-March,  1901. 

The  House  Beautiful,  April,  1901.  "Indian  Pottery,"  by  George 
Wharton  James. 

Outing,  May,  1901.  "Indian  Basketry,"  by  George  Wharton 
James. 

Good  Healch,  June,  1899.     "Industries  of  the  Navahoes  and  Mokis." 

New  York  Tribune,  Sunday,  Dec.  9,  1900.    "Hopi  Basket  Dance." 

Sunset  Magazine,  San  Francisco,  February,  1901.  "Among  the 
Mono  Basket-Makers." 

Southern  Workman,  Hampton,  Va.,  August,  1901.  "Indian 
Basketry." 

Sunset  Magazine,  San  Francisco,  November,  1901.  "With  Some 
California  Basket-Makers." 

The  Chautauquan,  September,  1901.  "Indian  Basketry  in  House 
Decoration." 

Literary  Collector,  New  York,  January,  1902.  "Ideas  in  Indian 
Baskets." 

Ladies'  Home  Journal,  1902.    "The  Charmed  Indian  Baskets." 

P.  S. — Since  this  book  was  written  the  Second  Part  of  the  Seven 
teenth  "Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology"  has 
been  received.  In  it  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes  has  an  elaborate  and  fas 
cinating  monograph  in  which  the  designs  on  the  ancient  pottery  of 
Tusayan  are  fully  described.  The  reader  interested  in  Symbolism 
will  find  a  rich  treat  and  a  fund  of  new  information  in  this  work. 


254 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


APPENDIX. 

The  first  edition  of  this  book  was  issued  in  the  latter  part  of  April, 
1901.  Before  September  the  whole  edition  was  exhausted  and  a  second 
imperatively  called  for.  I  am  glad,  therefore,  to  seize  the  opportunity 
to  add  new  and  interesting  material,  both  in  illustrations  and  descrip 
tions,  that  has  recently  become  available. 

DIXON  ON  "BASKETRY  DESIGNS  OF  THE  MAIDUS"— 
In  the  April-June,  1900,  number  of  the  American  Anthropologist 
there  appeared  an  interesting  article  by  Mr.  Roland  B.  Dixon,  entitled: 
"Basketry  Designs  of  the  Maidu  Indians  of  California."  These  people 
are  before  referred  to  on  page  57.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Dixon  and 
the  authorities  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  where 


FIG.  309.    FISH-TEETH. 


FIG.  310.     EARTHWORM. 

the  baskets  enshrining  these  designs  are  exhibited,  also  of  Mr.  F.  W. 
Hodge,  the  managing  editor  of  the  Anthropologist,  I  am  herewith 
privileged  to  present  to  my  readers  the  engravings  and  descriptions. 

Says  Mr.  Dixon :  "In  the  series  of  forty  baskets  nearly  two  dozen 
different  designs  are  used.  For  about  twenty  of  these  satisfactory 
explanations  have  been  obtained  up  to  the  present,  and  these  may  be 
divided  for  convenience  of  treatment  into  three  classes — animal  de 
signs,  plant  designs,  and  those  representing  objects  such  as  arrow- 
points,  mountains,  etc. 

"One  of  the  simplest  and  clearest  of  the  many  designs  belonging  to 
the  first  group  is  that  known  as  fish-teeth  (figure  309).  The  execution 


APPENDIX. 


235 


of  this  pattern  is  rather  irregular,  and  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  deter 
mine  whether  it  was  intended  to  have  the  crossbars  opposite  each 
other  or  alternating.  Looking  at  the  basket  from  below,  the  resem 
blance  to  the  wide  open  mouth  of  a  fish  is  rather  striking. 

"A  little  less  obvious  in  its  meaning  is  the  earthworm  on  a  basket 
from  the  same  locality  as  the  last.  In  this  (figure  310)  the  worm  is  rep 
resented  by  a  succession  of  parallelograms,  linked  together  by  the 
corners,  to  form  a  sinuous  chain  running  around  the  basket.  The 
separate  parallelograms  here  are  said  to  stand  for  the  segments  of  the 
earthworm's  body. 

''Of  very  frequent  occurrence  on  baskets  from  Sacramento  valley 
and  the  foothills  is  the  design  representing  the  quail  (311).  In  this  the 
characteristic  feature  is  the  plume  on  the  quail's  head,  shown  here 
by  the  vertical  square-tipped  appendices  to  the  parallelograms  which 
are  meant  for  the  bodies  of  the  birds.  The  quail-plumes  themselves 


FIG.  312.     FLYING  GEESE. 


are  used  at  times  in  the  decoration  of  the  feather-baskets,  being  woven 
in  while  the  basket  is  being  made,  and  standing  out  all  over  when 
done.  The  use  of  the  bird's  plumes  does  not,  however,  seem  to 
have  been  restricted  to  baskets  which  had  the  quail  design. 

"Two  other  designs  are  representations  of  birds,  the  "geese  flying" 
and  the  "duck's  wing."  One  form  of  one  of  these  designs  (figure 
312  c)  is  apparently  meant  for  a  flock  of  geese  in  flight,  their  tri 
angular  order  being  well  shown  in  the  arrangement  of  the  points  of 
the  design.  The  other  two  forms  (figure  312  a,  b),  said  also  to  be 
"geese  flying,"  are  not  quite  so  clear  as  the  first.  That  numbered  312  b 
is  curiously  like  the  quail  pattern  already  described,  except  that  the 
appendices  are  triangular  instead  of  square ;  it  is  possible  that  these 


236 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


may  refer  to  the  feet  of  the  goose  seen  just  as  the  bird  lights  (?).  The 
design  known  as  the  "duck's  wing"  (figure  313)  is  more  or  less  doubt 
ful  in  its  meaning.  It  is  said  to  signify  the  patch  of  white  seen  on 
each  side  of  the  bird. 


PIG.   311.     QUAIL. 


FIG.    313.     DUCK'S   WING. 

"Very  clear  in  their  meaning  are  the  designs  representing  the  "thou 
sand-legged  worm"  and  the  raccoon.  The  millipede  or  "thousand- 
legged  worm"  (figure  3-14)  is  shown  by  a  broad  band  of  solid  color 
running  in  a  zigzag  around  the  basket  and  provided  all  along  both 
edges  with  a  great  number  of  small  triangles  attached  by  short  narrow 
lines,  forming  thus  a  sort  of  fringe.  These  are,  as  might  be  supposed, 


FIG.  314.     MILLIPEDE. 


FIG.  315     RACCOON. 


FIG.  31C.    GRASSHOPPER 
LEG. 


the  many  feet  of  the  millipede.  The  characteristic  feature  of  the 
raccoon  design  (figure  315)  is  in  the  peculiar  curve  of  the  band  of  color 
which  runs  around  the  basket.  This  is  said  variously  to  stand  for  the 
stripes  of  the  animal,  or  for  the  os  penis ;  in  either  case  the  intent  of 
the  pattern  is  clear. 

"Rather  less  realistic  than  the  foregoing  designs  is  the  grasshopper 
pattern,  found  on  a  small  basket  from  Genesee  (figure  316).  This 
might  more  properly  be  called  the. grasshopper-leg  pattern,  as  this  is 
the  part  of  the  insect  which  is  represented.  Apparently  the  longer 
bars  are  the  legs,  and  the  shorter  bars  at  right  angles  to  the  former 
are  the  "feet"  (?).  Classed  with  the  animal  designs  for  convenience 
is  the  pattern  known  as  the  eye  (figure  317).  This  is  represented 
simply  by  a  hollow  rhombus  or  diamond. 


APPENDIX. 


237 


"Turning  to  the  second  group  of  designs,  those  representing  plants, 
it  is  evident  that  here  the  number  of  different  patterns  is  considerably 
less  than  in  the  first  group.  On  a  number  of  baskets  is  found  a  design 
of  which  the  only  explanation  that  could  be  obtained  was  that  it  was 
"just  a  flower."  This  design  (figure  318)  consists  of  rows  of  broad- 
based  triangles,  each  row  from  the  base  to  the  top  containing  success- 


FIG.  317.     EYE. 


FIG.    318.     FLOWER. 


ively  larger  triangles.  In  the  specimen  figured  the  design  is  not 
perfectly  regular,  but  the  pattern  is  sometimes  made  with  great  regu 
larity,  and  the  triangles  arranged  in  a  kind  of  whorl,  giving  a  curious 
effect  when  the  basket  is  seen  from  below.  The  triangles  here  repre 
sent  the  separate  petals  of  the  flower. 

"The  common  brake  (Pteris  aquilina)  is  represented  by  the  design 
shown  in  figure  319  from  a  basket  from  Mooretown.  The  points  in 
this  are  intended  for  the  pinnae  of  the  fern,  but  the  meaning  of  the 
bars  in  the  central  stripe  is  not  yet  clear.  Closely  resembling  this 
pattern  is  one  from  the  Konkau  (figure  320),  but  of  this  I  have  not 
been  able  to  obtain  a  reasonable  explanation.  Very  similar  also  is 
the  design  said  to  depict  the  vine  (figure  321).  In  this  the  spiral 
.character  of  the  pattern  as  it  winds  around  the  basket  is  the  twining 
of  the  vine  about  a  pole,  while  the  points  are  the  separate  leaves  as  they 
stand  out  on  either  side. 

"One  of  the  most  effective  plant  designs  is  that  of  the  pine-cone, 
used  by  the  people  of  the  higher  Sierras.  In  this  design  (figure  322) 
the  realism  is  quite  marked,  the  broad,  pyramidal  form  and  the  hori 
zontally  directed  points  being  strikingly  like  the  large  and  strong- 
spined  cones  of  the  digger  and  yellow  pines.  Although  the  digger 
pines  grow  in  large  numbers  on  the  foot-hills,  no  specimens  of  this 
design  were  seen  except  in  the  higher  portions  of  the  mountains. 
What  is  apparently  the  same  figure  cut  in  two  is  represented  around 
the  upper  edge  of  the  large  pack-basket  on  which  the  full  design  is 
shown. 

"Similar  to  the  cone,  but  differing  in  that  it  has  a  solid  center,  is  the 


238 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


pattern  found  on  a  basket  from  Big  Meadows  (figure  323).  This  is 
regarded  as  the  representation  of  a  bush,  growing  high  up  in  the 
mountains,  and  apparently  rather  rare,  as  I  was  unable  to  get  a 
specimen  to  identify  the  plant. 

"Of  the  designs  representing  objects  belonging  to  the  third  group 


FIG.  320. 


FIG.  319.     BRAKE. 


into  which  the  different  patterns  were  divided,  that  of  the  feather  is 
by  far  the  most  important.  It  seems  to  occur  in  several  different 
forms.  The  simplest  of  these,  perhaps,  is  shown  in  figure  324.  The 


FIG.   321.     VINE. 


FIG.    322.      PINE-CONE. 


characteristic  feature  of  the  design  appears  to  be  the  notched  or  saw 
tooth  edge,  in  imitation  of  an  old  custom  of  thus  notching  the  arrow- 
feathers  by  burning.  In  figure  325  the  design  appears  in  a  slightly 
different  form,  the  notched  "feathers"  being  arranged  in  points 
around  the  basket.  A  variation  of  this  design  is  shown  in  figure 
326,  where  the  interior  of  the  point  is  filled  with  a  somewhat  elaborate 


APPENDIX.  239 

pattern,  and  again  in  figure  327,  where  this  interior  pattern  is  different 
in  each  point.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  these  isolated  triangles 
are  meant  to  represent  flint  arrow-points,  a  design  which  alone  is 
very  frequently  met.  The  association  of  the  arrow-point  with  the 


FIG.  323.    A  BUSH.  FIG.    326.      FEATHERS. 

arrow-feather  would  not  be  an  unnatural  one,  and  till  further  evidence 
is  forthcoming  it  may  be  considered  that  in  the  designs  shown  in 
figures  326  and  327  there  is  a  combination  of  the  feather  pattern  with 
the  flint  arrow-point. 

"The  flint  arrow-point  as  it  occurs  alone  is  seen  in  figures  328  and 


FIG.    324.     FEATHERS. 

329.  The  triangles  which  make  up  this  figure  are  linked  together  in  a 
way  different  from  those  making  the  feather  designs,  and  the  longer 
axes  of  the  triangles  or  rhombuses  are  vertical  instead  of  horizontal. 

"The  simple  circular  band  of  color  surrounding  the  basket  is  said  t© 
be  a  path  or  trail  (figure  322).  It  does  not  seem  to  be  of  very  frequent 
occurrence,  and  in  all  the  specimens  seen  is  a  complete  circle,  without 
the  gap  so  common  on  baskets  and  pottery  from  the  Southwest,  as  also 
among  some  of  the  California  tribes,  of  which  the  Yuki  may  be  taken  as 
an  example. 

"A  rather  elaborate  composite  design  representing  mountains  and 
clouds  (figure  330)  is  shown  on  a  basket  from  Big  Meadows.  Here 
the  mountains  are  represented  as  a  range  in  perspective,  the  short 


240 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


vertical  lines  being  trees  growing  on  the  slopes.  Above  these  moun 
tains,  and  running  all  around  the  upper  edge  of  the  basket,  is  a  zigzag 
line  signifying  clouds  floating  over  the  summits  of  the  mountains." 

Mr.  Dixon  also  states  that  "the  knowledge  of  the  designs  is  almost 
exclusively  confined  to  the  older  women,  the  younger  generation 
knowing  only  very  few." 

That  this  is  a  fact  all  close  observers  know,  and  therefore  it  behooves 


FIG,  325.   FEATHERS. 


FIG.  327.   FEATHERS. 


those  who  are  interested  to  work  with  greater  energy  than  ever  to 
obtain  as  speedily  as  possible  the  meaning  of  all  existent  designs.    The 


FIG.   328.     FLINT   ARROWPOINTS. 


drive,  rush,  pressure  and  materialism  of  our  modern  civilized  life  is 
rapidly  changing  the  character  of  the  thought  of  the  Indian.  In  the 
old  days  she  had  opportunity  for  quiet  meditation  upon  the  objects  of 
nature  to  which  her  attention  was  arrested,  but  now  the  utilitarian 
(falsely  so-called)  and  commercial  spirit  forced  upon  her  afford  little 
time  for  such  cogitation.  The  new  race  of  Indians,  therefore,  is  grow 
ing  up  as  unpoetic,  unsentimental  and  unromantic  as  their  severest 
censors  could  wish,  and  only  by  the  prompt  adoption  of  such  methods 
as  I  have  elsewhere  suggested  can  this  evil  condition  be  averted. 


APPENDIX.  241 

FEAR  IN  DESIGNS — Speaking  of  the  zigzag  design  of  one  of  his 
baskets,  Mr.  A.  W.  de  la  Cour  Carroll  says:  "It  has  been  said  that 
the  Indians  do  not  imitate  in  their  designs  anything  that  creates  fear 
within  them.  This  is  an  error.  These  Indians  (the  Paiutis  and  Sho- 
shones)  are  much  afraid  both  of  lightning  and  snakes,  and  in  the  pho 
tograph  you  see  the  lightning  design  (so  explained  to  me  by  its  weaver, 
the  widow  of  the  last  chief  of  this  district),  and  I  have  two  or  three 
baskets  in  which  the  diamond  back  rattlesnake  and  the  long  black- 
snake  are  shown." 


FIG.    329.      FLINT   ARROWPOINTS.  FIG.   330.     MOUNTAINS  AND  CLOUDS. 


SOUTH  SEA  ISLAND  BASKET— In  a  letter  received  Sept.  20, 
1901,  a  gentleman  writes  me:  "While  in  Nantucket  this  summer  I 
found  in  an  old  curiosity  shop  a  basket  brought  to  this  country  from 
the  South  Sea  Islands  by  an  old  Nantucket  captain  who  died  forty 
years  ago.  The  basket  is  of  the  weave  and  shape  of  your  Fig.  104. 
page  105.  It  was  ornamented  around  the  edge  with  white  rings  (ivory?) 
like  your  Fig.  41,  page  46,  and  there  are  also  arrowhead  patterns  on 
the  side  done  in  these  same  white  rings  which  were  not  sewed  on,  but 
carried  on  thread  woven  into  the  texture." 

CAHUILLA  WEAVER— Fig.  331  is  a  pathetic  picture  to  me.  I 
made  it  some  years  ago  in  Cahuilla.  To  see  this  old  woman  almost 
helpless,  halt,  and  slowly  going  blind,  and  yet  anxious  to  work  as  long 
as  she  is  able,  is  truly  piteous,  and  it  contains  a  lesson  of  sturdy  inde 
pendence  that  it  would  be  well  for  many  a  white  woman  to  learn.. 
The  old  women  are  the  only  basket  makers  at  Cahuilla,  the  young; 
women  preferring  to  do  less  laborious  work  even  though  it  bring  therrh 
less  money. 

BENHAM  COLLECTION— Fig.  332  is  of  a  Pima  weaver,  brought, 
by  Mr.  J.  W.  Benham  from  the  reservation  in  Arizona  to  the  Pan- 
American  Exposition,  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  Here  she  plied  her  awl  and! 
wove  her  baskets  in  front  of  a  tule  hut,  exactly  as  she  does  when  in  her 
native  Arizona  home.  Thousands  came  and  watched  her  dexterous 
ringers  as  they  wrapped  the  willow  splints  around  the  grass  of  the  inner 
coil,  and  saw  the  design  worked  in  by  means  of  the  martynia  or  cat's 
claw.  Object  lessons  of  this  nature  are  exceedingly  valuable.  They 
give  opportunity  for  the  gaining  of  definite  and  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  Indian  woman's  skill,  and  demonstrate  not  only  how  perfectly  the 
figures  of  designs  are  mapped  out  in  her  active  little  brain,  but  how 
easily  she  leads  her  fingers  to  compel  the  splints  to  reproduce  that 
which  she  mentally  imagines.  It  would  be  a  good  thing  for  art 
students,  whether  of  the  beaux  arts,  or  the  textiles,  etc.,  to  study  a  num- 


242 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


From  the  Southern  Workman. 
FIG.  331.     A  CAHUILLA  WEAVER. 


APPENDIX. 


243 


FIG.  332.     PIMA  WEAVER  AT  PAN-AMERICAN  EXPO  SITION. 


FIG.   333.     PIMA   BASKETS   IN  THE   BENHAM    COLLECTION. 


244  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

ber  of  such  Indians  as  this  engaged  in  their  art  work  in  their  own 
simple,  natural,  untrained  fashion. 

Fig.  333  is  of  six  Pima  baskets  in  the  Benham  collection.  Here 
the  geometrical  designs  predominate,  only  the  one  to  the  right  having 
human  figures.  As  I  have  before  explained  the  weavers  state  that  most 
of  these  meandering  fret,  zigzag,  swastika  and  similar  motifs  have  their 
origin  in  flowing  water. 

Fig.  334  is  of  Apache  baskets  also  in  the  Benham  collection.  Here 
the  superiority  of  the  Apache  over  the  Pima  weave  is  very  evident.  In 
the  two  baskets  to  the  right  a  similar  motif  is  presented  in  the  design 
to  many  of  the  Pimas,  viz.,  a  central  water  reservoir  from  which  streams 
flow  out  in  various  directions. 

The  center  basket  is  a  fine  large  specimen  of  a  shape  dear  to  the 
heart  of  the  Apache  weaver.  It  used  to  be  her  granary  in  which  she 
stored  acorns,  corn,  grass  or  other  seeds.  It  was  large  and  commodi 
ous  and  built  for  use  and  wear,  consequently  combines  strength  with 
its  utility  of  form.  As  the  esthetic  instinct  grew,  the  decorative  prin 
ciple  demanded  greater  scope  in  the  treatment  of  the  designs,  and 
simple  bands  gave  place  to  more  complicated  and  expressive  symbols. 

Fig.  335  is  a  magnificent  specimen  of  one  of  these  Apache  baskets. 
It  stands  about  four  feet  high  and  contains  many  thousands  of  stitches. 
In  shape  it  is  almost  perfect,  and  the  designs  are  most  striking,  though 
I  am  unable  to  give  the  weaver's  interpretation  of  them.  The  steps 
that  ascend  from  the  bottom  are  mountains,  and  the  same  design  with 
the  two  descending  lines  upon  them  are  mountains  upon  which  the  rain 
is  falling.  On  either  side  of  these  the  connected  diamonds  sometimes 
represent  the  rattlesnake.  The  upper  band  below  the  net-work  design 
is  the  conventionalized  mountain  and  valley  pattern. 

Mr.  Benham  has  called  my  attention  to  a  method  of  his  own  in  de 
termining  which  are  Pima  and  which  Apache  baskets.  He  says  that  in 
the  examination  of  many  hundreds  made  by  these  two  peoples  he  has 
never  known  the  sign  to  fail,  viz.,  that  in  the  Apache  weave  there  is  a 
ridge  in  each  coil  which  denotes  the  presence  of  three  splints  of  about 
equal  thickness,  while  the  Pima  weave  lacks  this  distinguishing  mark. 

In  Fig.  337  are  various  baskets  in  the  Benham  collection.  No.  5  is  a 
well  made  and  colored  Oraibi  (Hopi)  sacred  meal  tray,  while  No.  6  is  a 
Mashonganavi  (Hopi)  yucca  plaque  of  star  design,  most  accurately  and 
beautifully  worked  out. 

Fig.  338  is  interesting  mainly  as  it  shows  several  striking  designs  on 
Oraibi  (Hopi)  wicker-work  plaques.  On  the  left  is  a  distinct  represen 
tation  of  a  Katchina,  one  of  the  totemic,  ancestral  divinities  of  the  Hopi, 
to  whom  much  of  their  worship  is  addressed.  They  might  be  termed 
"lesser  divinities"  of  this  people  of  many  gods,  for  they  do  not  hold  so 
high  a  place  in  their  regard  as  do  the  gods  which  personify  the  powers 
of  nature.  Three  other  of  these  baskets  in  Fig.  338  represent  the 
mythical  thunder  bird,  a  creiature  of  w'hom  Dr.  Fewkes  has  written 
most  interestingly  in  his  recent  monograph  on  Ancient  Hopi  Pottery, 
published  in  the  Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

The  star  design  in  the  Mashonganavi  plaque  to  the  right  is  effective 
and  well  worked  out. 

DAT-SO-LA-LE — Fig.  340  is  of  Dat-so-la-le  (whose  name,  I  am 
told,  is  pronounced  to  rhyme  with  Charley,  emphasis  on  the  "la"),  the 


APPENDIX. 


245 


FIG.  334.  APACHE  BASKETS  IN  THE  BENHAM  COLLECTION. 


/ 


FIG.  335.  LARGE  APACHE  BASKET  IN  BENHAM  COLLECTION. 


246 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


FIG.  337.     VARIOUS  BASKETS  IN  THE  BENHAM  COLLECTION. 


FIG.  338.     BASKETS,  MOSTLY  ORAIBI,  IN  BENHAM  COLLECTION. 


APPENDIX.  247 

Washoe  weaver  of  The  Emporium,  Carson  City,  Nevada.  She  is 
engaged  in.  the  making  of  Tier  basket,  No.  24,  a  beautiful  three-colored 
specimen,  the  design  of  which  is  purely  Indian  and  beautifully  poetic. 
On  the  top  of  the  basket  the  homes  of  the  Indians  are  represented; 
in  the  designs  below  are  four  different  signs,  representing  nests  and 
young  and  old  binds  flying.  The  meaning  is :  "When  the  birds  and 
their  fledgelings  leave  their  nests  and  fly  away  t'he  Indians  will  move 
to  new  homes."  This  basket  contains  over  50,000  stitches,  woven  thirty 
to  the  inch  and  occupied  six  months  in  the  weaving.  Of  the  basket  to 
the  right,  at  her  feet,  the  following  legend  is  given :  The  "tower"-like 
part  of  the  design  represents  certain  families  and  their  descendants. 
The  squares  or  parallelograms,  with  triangles  on  each  side  and  darting 
rays  top  and  bottom,  represent  certain  sacred  rites  or  degrees.  Below 
these  are  seen  four  lozenges,  which  denote  four  chiefs.  Dat-so-la-le 
explains  that  there  are  four  chiefs  of  the  Washoes  who  receive  the 
four  "degrees,"  or  pass  through  the  four  stages  of  certain  so-cieties, 
ere  they  are  recognized  as  of  full  power  or  authority,  and  these 
four  acquire  this  right  of  initiation  by  inheritance,  only  those  de 
scended  from  former  initiates  being  eligible.  This  basket  contains  over 
45,000  stitches  anld  is  woven  29  to  the  inch. 

KERN  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA,  WEA.VERS— There  are  a 
number  of  fine  basket  makers  in  Kern  County,  California.  No  at 
tempt,  as  far  as  I  know,  has  yet  been  made  to  study  these  people  to  get 
at  definite  knowledge  as  to  their  tribal  relationships.  The  baskets  they 
make  are  of  the  Yokut  type,  and  I  doubt  whether  there  is  any  real  dif 
ference  in  their  manufacture,  materials  or  designs.  Dr.  J.  W.  Hudson, 
whose  admirable  writings  about  the  Pomas  have  been  largely  drawn 
upon  in  the  preceding  pages,  is  now,  at  the  present  time  of  writing  (end 
of  September,  1901),  gathering  baskets  and  other  Indian  material 
from  the  aborigines  of  this  country  for  the  Field  Columbian  Museum, 
and  there  is  reason  to  hope  that  lie  will  ere  long  enlighten  our  igno 
rance  by  one  of  his  luminous  and  carefully  prepared  monographs. 

McLEOD  COLLECTION— Undoubtedly  the  best  collection  of 
Kern  County  baskets  now  in  existence  is  that  of  Mr.  E.  L.  McLeod,  of 
Bakersfield,  Cal.  With  a  keen  love  of  the  beautiful,  Mr.  McLeod  has 
always  been  attracted  by  the  charms  of  fine  baskets,  so,  for  many  years 
he  has  been  adding  to  his  store.  Living  in  close  contact  with  the  Kern 
County  Indians,  he  has  had  unusual  opportunities  for  selection  and 
choice,  and  the  result  is  a  collection  that  is  at  once  the  delight,  envy 
and  despair  of  all  who  see  it.  To  merely  catalogue  his  baskets  would 
be  to  fill  up  many  pages  of  this  work.  A  score  or  more  are  really 
typical  baskets  and  ought  to  have  both  pictorial  and  fully  written  de 
scription,  and,  should  the  interest  in  the  subject  demand  a  third  edition 
of  my  modest  book,  I  hope  I  may  be  able  to  secure  these  for  that  edi 
tion. 

One  basket,  however,  of  the  McLeod  collection  has  already  been  pic 
tured  and  described  in  these  pages  (see  Fig.  270,  page  188).  Another 
illustration  of  the  same  basket  is  also  presented  in  Fig.  I22a. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  baskets  I  have  ever  seen.  In 
color  it  is  a  rich  cream,  with  the  designs  worked  out  in  red  and  black, 
the  whole  mellowed  by  time  into  that  indescribable  but  so  real  charm 
that  only  expert  collectors  can  fully  appreciate.  It  is  16  inches  across 
and  9  inches  high.  The  neck  is  5  inches  across.  When  Mr.  McLeod 


248 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


first  heard  of  it  and  saw  it,  it  was  being  used  as  a  water  receptacle  by 
its  owner  on  Paiuti  Mountain,  Kern  Co.  For  four  years  he  visited  its 
owner  and  endeavored  to  purchase  it  without  avail.  At  last,  succumb 
ing  to  the  dazzling  vision  of  several  handsful  of  silver  spread  tempting 
ly  before  her,  the  owner  reluctantly  parted  with  it.  Before  doing  so, 
however,  Mr.  McLeod  learned  from  her  that  the  basket  was  made  by  a 
Christianized  woman  early  in  the  last  century.  The  priest  had  so  pic 
tured  to  her  mind  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles  that  she  wove 
them  into  her  basket.  From  Fig.  I22a  it  will  be  seen  that  on  the  top 
there  are  thirteen  human  figures  depicted,  and  that  ten  of  these  are 
in  pairs,  standing  side  by  side.  Then  one  figure  is  in  a  division  alone, 


FIG.    340.      DAT-SO-LA-LE,    THE    WASHOE    WEAVER.f  J  _ 


while  the  other  two  figures  are  together,  one  a  little  below  the  other. 
With  an  ingenuity  that  is  striking  in  its  simplicity  and  effectiveness 
the  weaver  thus  placed  Judas,  the  betrayer,  in  a  solitary  and  separate 
place,  while  the  beloved  disciple,  John,  is  with  Christ  but  not  equal  to 
him,  being  placed  a  little  behind  him. 

Another  interesting  basket  in  Mr.  McLeod's  collection  is  a  baby 
cradle,  a  type  in  itself.  I  purchased  a  similar  cradle  two  years  ago  at 
the  Tule  River  Reservation.  It  is  simple  and  primitive,  yet  effective. 
A  forked  stick  is  found,  with  the  arms  of  the  fork  extending  some  two 
or  three  feet  from  the  fork  itself,  and  gradually  widening  out.  At  the 


APPENDIX.  249 

terminus  of  the  two  arms  the  sticks  are  about  a  foot  and  a  half  apart. 
Across  these  divided  arms  lesser  sticks  are  placed  and  lashed  to  each 
arm.  Upon  these  cross  sticks  peeled  willow  shoots  are  placed,  twined 
around  the  topmost  cross  stick,  and  bound  together  by  twenty-five 
cross  stitches.  Thus  a  rude  carrying  cradle  is  formed,  which  I  have 
never  seen  elsewhere. 

Another  basket  that  its  owner  prizes  highly  is  a  very  old  and  dilapi 
dated  looking  specimen,  that  none  but  the  really  scientific  collector 
would  be  more  than  casually  interested  in.  This  is  a  very  ancient 
specimen  excavated  from  a  cave  in  the  Cuyama  Valley,  which  is  lo 
cated  between  Bakersfield  and  Santa  Barbara,  Cal.  It  is  made  with 
tules  for  warp  and  a  fibrous  hemp  for  woof,  and  was  lined  inside  and 
out  with  asphaltum.  It  is  of  the  twined  weave,  with  alternate  bands 
where  two  splints  instead  of  one  are  twined,  as  a  decorative  device.  It 
is  15  inches  high.  When  found  it  was  entirely  collapsed  and  out  of 
shape  and  was  only  restored  by  the  exercise  of  great  care.  As  much 
barley  was  put  inside  as  it  would  hold,  and  this  was  then  soaked  in 
water.  How  old  the  basket  is  none  can  tell,  for  there  have  been  no  In 
dians  in  the  region  where  it  was  found  for  fully  fifty  years. 

Another  basket  of  Mr.  McLeod's  demonstrates  the  impossibility  of 
any  other  than  the  weaver  determining  the  meaning  of  the  design.  It 
shows  a  large  number  of  St.  Andrew's  crosses  radiating  from  the  cen 
ter  of  the  basket.  The  explanation  given  by  the  Monos  and  Yokuts 
of  the  St.  Andrew's  Cross  has  already  been  given,  but  this  weaver  said 
she  was  imitating  the  flight  of  a  flock  of  butterflies  that  came  from  the 
valley  to  tell  her  of  the  arrival  of  spring.  And  as  the  basket  is  held  at 
a  little  distance  and  in  the  proper  light  the  fidelity  of  the  design  to  the 
object  depicted  is  remarkable.  There  is  a  deep  poetic  pathos  in  this 
design.  The  old  woman  who  made  it  lived  about  a  hundred  miles 
away  from  Bakersfield,  high  up  in  the  mountains  in  the  forks  of  the 
creeks  that  go  to  make  the  Kern  River.  After  a  long  weary  winter  it 
would  seem  like  a  glimpse  of  a  new  and  beautiful  world  to  have  these 
butterflies  come  into  vision,  and,  thankful  for  the  joy  the  sight  of  them 
gave  to  her,  the  grateful  woman  thus  expressed  the  inner  emotions  of 
her  heart.  So  I  see  joy,  gratitude  and  thankfulness  in  this  design. 

But  there  is  an  added  pathos  in  the  fact  that  in  August  of  1901  a 
waterspout  fell  in  the  mountains  above  this  poor  old  weaver's  solitary 
hut,  and  as  the  torrents  dashed  down  and  met  at  the  forks,  the  frail 
structure,  with  its  inhabitant,  was  swept  down  the  canyon,  and  though 
Indians  and  a  few  whites  both  searched,  the  body  has  never  been 
found.  Perhaps  she  is  now  enjoying  many  butterflies,  in  a  land  where 
flood  and  destruction  are  unknown.  According  to  a  careful  estimate 
made,  reckoning  from  the  known  dates  of  events  in  which  she  partici 
pated,  she  must  have  been  over  118  years  old  when  the  storm  waters 
thus  washed  out  her  life. 

BRAIDED  BORDER  STITCH— It  will  doubtless  be  recalled 
what  I  have  said  about  the  "herring-bone"  finishing  stitch  found  on 
Navaho,  Paiuti  and  Havasupai  baskets.  Mr.  McLeod  has  a  basket, 
bought  at  Lake  Tahoe  some  years  ago  and  made  by  a  Washoe  Indian, 
that  has  this  same  finishing  stitch.  This  opens  up  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  Washoe  uses  this  stitch,  and,  if  so,  from  whence  did  she 
obtain  it,  or,  is  it  another  instance  of  independent  origin?  Mr.  A. 
Cohn  of  The  Emporium,  Carson  City,  writes  me  that  there  is  a 


25°  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

Washoe  squaw  now  living  who  uses  this  braided  finish.  Mr.  Benham 
also  informs  me  that  he  occasionally  purchases  a  basket  from  an  Apache 
weaver  who  makes  the  same  stitch. 

It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  the  Navaho  tradition  of  the  origin  of  this 
stitch  locating  its  first  usage  with  this  people  is,  so  far,  correct.  Ac 
cepting  this,  it  would  be  easy  to  explain  its  existence  among  all  the 
other  weavers.  The  Paiutis  on  the  north,  the  Apaches  on  the  south 
and  the  Havasupais  on  the  west,  all  have  dealings  with  the  Navahoes, 
and  their  baskets  are  found  interchangeably  among  the  three  tribes. 
The  Washoes  and  Paiutis  are  neighbors,  in  western  Nevada,  and  it  is 
not  at  all  unlikely  that  some  Washoe  weaver,  visiting  her  Paiuti  sister, 
learned  the  art  by  watching  the  latter  as  she  continued  her  work  while 
gossiping  with  her  visitor. 

From  Mr.  McLeod  I  learn  that  the  Kern  County  Indians  are  mainly 
Yokuts  and  Paiutis.  The  presence  of  these  latter  Nevada  Indians  in 
this  region,  so  far  away  from  their  original  habitat,  has  been  already 
fully  explained.  The  Yokuts  originally  possessed  the  land.  They  made 
a  great  rendezvous  of  Fort  Tejon,  both  before  and  after  its  occupancy 
by  the  whites. 

MONACHI  WEAVERS— Above  Kernville,  in  Mountain  Meadows, 
are  a  few  Monachis,  who  are  excellent  basket  weavers.  To  what 
tribe  these  belong  I  do  not  know.  They  may  be  Shoshones,  Monos  or 
Yokuts.  Mr.  A.  W.  De  la  Cour  Carroll  writes  me  of  the  Monachis 
being  formerly  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  He  says 
"there  is  scarcely  a  Monachi  left.  This  tribe  used  to  make  the 
Monachi  Valley  their  summer  hunting  and  fishing  ground,  but  now 
there  is  not  one  family  left." 

DIFFICULTIES  IN  COLLECTING— There  are  some  people 
who  funnily  imagine  that  all  those  who  collect  baskets  from  the  orig 
inal  weavers  are  after  the  type  of  the  scoundrel  described  by  Dr.  Hud 
son  on  page  227.  The  following  letter  may  interest  some  readers  and 
show  to  others  that  the  Indians  are  fully  alive  to  the  value  of  their 
wares.  A  friend  had  purchased  for  me  a  basket  from  the  wife  of  the 
chief  of  a  California  tribe.  It  was  as  yet  unfinished.  The  price,  fin 
ished,  was  to  be  $10.  One  day  he  received  this  letter,  doubtless  dic 
tate  J  by  the  weaver  and  written  by  her  son,  a  lad  of  some  13  years.  I 
give  its  original  spelling,  etc. : 

"Dear  Sir :  I  am  gone  to  tell  you  of  about  the  basket,  the  basket 
worth  $15.  He  is  little  big.  I  put  I  inch  more  I  think.  I  sell  the 
basket  $15.00. 

from  yours." 

My  friend  refused  to  pay  the  $15,  and  a  few  days  later  another  col 
lector  came  along  and  gladly  took  it  for  $16.  He  writes :  "You  see 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a  basket  unless  you  stand  right  over 
it.  The  Indians  will  not  set  a  price  until  they  have  finished  a  basket. 
Then  the  fellow  who  is  there  and  will  give  the  most  gets  it."  This,  of 
course,  refers  to  finely  woven  baskets,  some  of  which  are  almost  as 
beautiful  as  any  ever  made. 

On  this  subject  of  "New  versus  Old"  baskets,  Mr.  Cour  Carroll 
says  :  "The  old  baskets  are  scarcely  now  to  be  had,  but  if  of  equally 
fine  work  I  like  the  new  as  well,  for  time  will  bring  the  ripe  desired 
tinge." 


APPENDIX,  251 

This  suggests  that  Mr.  Cour  Carroll  has  found  in  his  experience, 
west  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  what  I  have  found  among  the  Yokuts, 
Pimas,  Apaches,  Havasupais  and  Paiutis,  viz.,  that  there  are  still  a 
few  weavers  who  do  as  good  work  as  ever  was  done.  Few,  indeed, 
these  are,  yet  they  do  exist,  as  is  further  shown  by  the  work  of  Dat-so- 
ia-le. 

m  MONO  WEAVERS— In  the  February  number  of  "Sunset,"  pub 
lished  in  San  Francisco,  I  wrote  of  some  Mono  weavers  and  baskets. 
Here  I  found  baskets  of  exquisite  shape,  color,  weave  and  design,  and 
by  kind  permission  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Co.,  I  am  privileged 
to  republish  both  illustrations  and  descriptions. 

"Just  below  the  Yosemite  valley,  east  and  south,  a  nation  of  abo 
riginal  basket-makers  is  to  be  found.  One  of  the  counties  of  Califor 
nia,  as  well  as  a  noted  lake,  are  named  after  them — the  Monos.  Little 
by  little  the  lands  owned  by  their  ancestors  have  been  stolen  from 
them,  and  now  they  are  driven  in  every  direction  higher  and  higher  in 
to  the  mountains.  With  an  indifference  to  their  rights  that  is  very 
different  from  the  passionate  rebellion  of  such  people  as  the  Apaches, 
they  have  allowed  themselves  to  be  dispossessed  of  their  homes,  and 
have  climbed  away  further  from  the  white  man.  Doubtless  the  reason 
for  this  seeming  indifference  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  there  is 
plenty  more  valuable  land  in  the  higher  Sierras  which  they  can  use  for 
their  simple  pastoral  wants. 

Not  long  ago  I  visited  this  people  with  a  desire  to  see  what  could  be 
learned  of  them  before  they  entirely  disappeared  from  the  ken  of  white 
men.  Leaving  the  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific  at  Fresno,  I  drove  up 
into  the  heart  of  the  Sierras,  past  the  great  flumes  and  lumber  yards 
at  Clovis,  where  millions  of  feet  of  lumber  annually  are  floated  down 
from  the  mountain  heights  ;  past  great  vineyards ;  past  sites  made  fa 
mous  by  gold-hunters  in  the  "days  of  '49" ;  up,  and  ever  up,  until  a 
most  beautiful  and  charming  retreat  was  found  in  Burr  valley.  Here, 
once  the  home  of  the  Fresno  Indians,  white  men  have  planted  apples, 
plums,  peiars,  peaches  am«d  other  fruit  trees ;  acres  and  acres  are  sown 
to  grain,  and,  when  I  arrived,  the  clatter  of  the  harvester  and  the  hum 
of  the  thresher  filled  the  whole  valley  with  their  welcome  sounds. 

A  few  miles  over  the  ridge,  and  the  first  of  the  Mono  Indian  ranch- 
erias  was  found.  Perched  on  the  steep  sides  of  a  mountain,  near  a 
spring,  the  little  cluster  of  huts  .was  observed  as  we  approached  over 
the  ridge.  Houses  of  rude  lumber,  not  much  larger  than  good-sized 
dry-goods  boxes,  with  here  and  there  a  "ramada,"  or  s'hack  of  brush 
wood,  formed  the  dwelling  places  of  these  people.  The  major  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  were  gone  into  the  San  Joaquin  valley  to  cut 
peaches  and  pick  grapes,  so  our  investigations  here  were  somewhat 
limited. 

The  following  day,  however,  we  pushed  along  over  the  mountain 
sides,  down  into  a  shut-in  valley,  and  then  on  and  up,  over  steep  and 
difficult  trails  until  a  large  settlement  was  reached.  Here  we  were  in 
the  veritable  home  of  the  Monos.  They  are  seldom  visited,  and  white 
people  are  a  rarity.  Here  we  spent  several  days,  watching  the  Indians 
at  their  crude  farming,  grinding  of  acorns,  preparing  the  meal,  making 
"bellota,"  or  as  they  pronounce  it,  "viota"  or  acorn  bread,  peeling  the 


252 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


FIG.    342.      MONO    FLOUR    SIFTERS. 
In  the  Collection  of  George  Wharton  James. 


FIG.  344.     MONO  INDIAN  MUSH  BASKETS. 
(Collection  of  George  Wharton  James.) 


APPENDIX. 


253 


roots  for  basket-making,  dyeing  the  strands,  and  finally  making  the  ex 
quisite  basket-work  for  which  they  are  justly  famed. 

Watch  one  of  the  women  at  work,  pounding  acorns.  It  is  not  an 
easy  task.  The  "pounder"  is  a  heavy  piece  of  granite,  and  the  "mor 
tar"  is  a  hole  hewn  out  of  a  great  granite  boulder  that  rests  under  a 
tree.  The  shade  is  grateful,  for  the  sun  is  hot  and  the  work  arduous. 
Raising  the  pestle  as  high  as  her  arms  can  reach  the  woman  brings  it 
down  with  great  force  upon  the  acorns  until  she  deems  them  pounded 
enough.  Then  the  meal  is  placed  in  the  sifter,  a  peculiar  shell-shaped 


FIG.    343.      MONO    INDIAN    BASKETS. 
(Collection  of  George  Wharton  James.) 


piece  of  basketry,  (see  Fig.  342,)  and  that  part  of  the  meal  that  is  not 
fine  enough  goes  through  the  pounding  process  anew. 

Now  the  meal  is  prepared,  but  before  it  can  be  used  for  food  it  must 
be  so  treated  that  the  horribly  bitter  and  strong  taste  will  be  taken 
from  it.  A  large  bowl-shaped  cavity  is  made  in  the  sand  or  gravel, 


254 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


and  in  this  is  placed  a  piece  of  canvas  or  cloth  of  some  kind  to  act  as  a 
strainer.  The  acorn  meal  is  now  well  mixed  with  water  in  which  a  lit 
tle  lye  has  been  placed.  This  mixture  is  then  poured  into  the  canvas, 
and,  as  the  water  seeps  away,  the  acorn  meal  is  left  in  a  kind  of  mushy 
state,  but  much  nearer  to  food  than  it  was  before.  This  paste  is 
thrown  into  baskets,  large  and  beautiful  specimens  of  their  labor. 
When  enough  moisture  has  evaporated  to  permit,  the  paste  is  cut  up 
into  short  strips,  placed  on  canvas,  boards,  or  anything  that  will  an 
swer  the  purpose,  and  put  out  into  the  sun  to  dry. 


i 


FIG.    345.     MONO   INDIAN   BASKETS   OF   RATTLESNAKE   DESIGN. 

One  would  think  by  this  time  it  would  be  ready  for  use.  Not  at  all. 
It  has  to  undergo  two  more  processes  before  it  can  be  eaten.  First,  it 
must  be  pounded  again  into  meal.  Then  it  needs  to  be  cooked.  A 
large  fire  is  made.  Into  it  are  cast  a  large  number  of  good-sized 
stones.  While  they  are  becoming  heated,  the  acorn  flour  is  mixed 


APPENDIX.  255 

with  water  and  well  stirred  with  a  peculiar-looking  stick,  one  end  of 
which  has  been  bent  to  form  an  oval  loop. 

You  wonder  what  the  loop  is  for,  and  your  curiosity  is  soon  satis 
fied  ;  for,  with  dexterous  movements,  the  woman  uses  this  looped  stir 
ring-stick  to  pick  up  a  red-hot  rock  from  the  fire  and  convey  it  to  the 
basket  where  her  mixture  of  acorn  meal  and  water  stands.  Hissing 
and  sizzling,  the  rock  drops  into  the  basket,  and  the  stick  is  now 
used  with  vigor  to  stir  the  liquid.  Another  and  another  heated  rock 
is  brought,  and  by  this  time  the  thin,  watery  gruel  is  changed  into  a 
cooked,  glutinous,  thick  mush.  This  is  poured  out  into  another  bas 
ket,  or,  after  the  rocks  are  taken  out,  is  allowed  to  remain  in  the  cook 
ing  basket,  and  it  is  now  ready  to  be  eaten,  or  to  undergo  further  proc 
esses.  If  it  is  to  be  made  into  bread  it  is  again  dried,  again  pounded, 
and  then  is  mixed  with  water,  as  ordinary  flour,  made  into  small  cakes 
and  baked  on  heated  stones.  But  to  the  white  man  it  is  a  poor  and 
disagreeable  substitute  for  his  own  wheat  bread,  although  to  the 
Monos  it  is,  perhaps,  their  staple  article  of  diet. 

To  gather  the  acorns  and  transport  them  over  the  steep  mountain 
trails  is  no  easy  task,  and  this  is  entirely  the  work  of  the  women. 
With  a  large  carrying  basket,  shown  in  the  frontispiece  illustration,  and 
the  basket  to  the  left  in  Fig.  343,  the  patient  and  hard-working  "lady" 
of  the  household  will  carry  a  load  ten  or  a  dozen  miles,  heavy  enough 
to  stagger  many  a  hearty  and  stout-looking  man. 

To  call  this  Indian  woman  a  lady  seems  strange  and  out  of  place, 
I  know,  does  it  not?  And  yet,  do  you  know,  the  term  is  absolutely 
appropriate  and  true.  For,  are  you  aware — and  I  give  John  Ruskin 
as  my  authority — that  a  lady  is  a  laf-dig — loaf-maker  or  provider ;  she 
who  makes  the  loaves  for  the  household?  Tlie  Mono  woman,  there 
fore,  in  the  original  and  true  sense,  is  a  real  lady,  and,  as  such,  should 
be  honored  and  respected. 

Few  people  on  looking  at  one  of  these  women  would  recognize  an 
artist,  a  poet,  a  profound  religionist.  And  yet  she  is  all  these.  On  page 
54,  fig.  48,  the  woman  from  whom  I  bought  four  baskets  is  pictured. 
The  basket  she  holds  is  a  beautiful  creation.  The  colors  of  many  of 
these  bottle-necked  designs  are  as  harmonious  and  pleasing  to  the 
most  cultured  chromatic  taste  as  the  finest  dress  made  under  the  di 
rection  of  Worth,  and  the  weaving  is  as  regular  and  perfect  as  if  done 
by  machinery.  In  shape,  too,  it  is  artistic,  symmetrical  and  perfect. 
It  was  made  to  be  a  little  household  treasure  basket,  and  the  design  is 
an  embodied  prayer. 

After  I  had  purchased  this  and  the  weaver  sat  looking  at  it  with  re 
gretful  longing  that  her  necessities  were  such  that  she  was  compelled  to 
part  with  it  for  the  white  man's  money,  I  could  imagine  her  thoughts 
lifted  to  Those  Above  that  they  would  not  deem  her  sacrilegious  in  sell 
ing  that  which  she  had  intended  as  a  perpetual  prayer." 

One  of  the  baskets  of  Fig.  48  is  now  in  the  Wanamaker  collection 
and  is  pictured  in  the  article  entitled :  "What  Baskets  Are  to  the  In 
dian,"  which  appeared  in  Everybody's  Magazine  for  November,  1901. 
It  will  also  be  observed  in  the  frontispiece  of  this  volume.  The  design 
is  of  the  diamond-backed  rattlesnake,  the  commonest  of  Mono  designs, 
and  dancing  Shamans,  or  Medicine  Men.  The  weaver  told  me  that 
the  diamond  design  is  a  prayer  of  propitiation  to  the  powers  that  con 
trol  the  rattlesnake,  which  abounds  in  the  region,  so  that  her  husband, 


256 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


Photo  by  George  Wharton  James.     From   the   Southern  Workman. 
FIG.   346.     THE  HILL  COLLECTION. 


APPENDIX.  257 

her  children  and  herself  may  not  be  bitten  as  they  wander  to  and  fro 
in  the  snake-infested  districts. 

On  the  upper  basket  of  the  frontispiece  several  flowing  streams  are 
depicted  in  the  zigzags  below  the  rattlesnake  pattern,  and,  standing 
above  each  zigzag  to  the  left,  is  the  conventionalized  form  of  the  quail 
plume.  This  informs  the  beholder  that  there  are  plenty  of  quail  to  be 
found  near  these  streams. 

The  carrying  baskets  represent  the  conventional  design  for  hills  and 
valleys,  the  steep  mountain  summits  of  the  "Sierra" — the  Saw  Teeth — 
being  intended.  Another  conventional  design  pictured  on  the  second 
basket  from  the  right  in  Fig.  344  represents  hills  and  valleys  lower 
down  in  the  mountains,  where  valleys  are  broader  and  hills  not  so 
pointed. 

In  the  basket  to  the  right  of  Fig.  345  the  rattle  of  the  rattlesnake  is 
represented.  The  small  basket  in  front  in  Fig.  343  is  especially  interest 
ing  to  the  collector.  The  woman  from  whom  I  purchased  it  informed 
me  that  it  was  made  by  her  grandmother,  hence  it  must  be  very  old, 
possibly  a  century  or  more.  It  represents  water  flowing  down  the 
steep  slopes  of  a  mountain,  the  latter  represented  by  the  steps,  on 
which  are  plenty  of  quail,  represented  by  the  quail  plume,  one  of  the 
common  and  most  beautiful  designs  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas. 

THE  HILL  COLLECTION— Fig.  346  is  a  portion  of  the  collec 
tion  of  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Hill,  the  well-known  artist  of  the  Yose- 
mite  Valley.  Here  is  quite  an  interesting  variety  and  they  add  no  in 
considerable  element  of  attraction  to  Mr.  Hill's  always  attractive  stu 
dio  at  Wawona.  The  largest  basket,  perched  high  in  the  corner,  is 
one  of  the  carrying  baskets.  Its  size  and  capacity  can  better  be  un 
derstood  by  glancing  at  Fig.  i67a.  I  think  it  is  Hudson,  elsewhere 
quoted,  who  says  that  if  one  compares  the  carrying  capacity  of  the 
"kathak"  with  that  of  the  wheelbarrow,  everything  is  in  favor  of  the 
former.  It  is,  indeed,  truly  wonderful  the  great  burdens  the  women 
will  Carry  in  these  simple  and  primitive  carriers.  The  photograph, 
Fig.  i67a,  shows  a  Yokut  woman  of  Tule  River  Reservation  in  Califor 
nia,  with  a  load  of  fig's  and  peaches.  The  basket  is  suspended  on  a 
broad  band  of  rawhide  across  the  upper  forehead.  It  is  such  a  load  as 
few  men  would  care  to  carry  far,  and  yet  this  woman  carried  it  for 
nearly  two  miles  before  she  reached  her  home,  and  was  most  obliging 
and  patient  when  I  asked  her  to  kindly  allow  me  to  photograph  her. 
And  this  two  miles  was  not  on  a  level  road.  It  was  a  steep  hill, 
where  no  man  that  I  know  would  have  cared  to  push  a  wheelbarrow. 
The  lightness  combined  with  strength,  too,  manifested  in  the  weave  of 
these  baskets  is  remarkable  and  is  well  worthy  the  attention  of  those 
who  regard  the  Indian  as  an  incapable. 

But  to  return  to  Fig.  346.  The  careful  observer  will  note  Hopi 
plaques  of  both  Mashonganavi  and  Oraibi  weave,  dice  basket  or 
plaque,  baby  cradles,  hats,  trinket  baskets,  mush  bowls,  unpitched 
water  bottles,  and  seed  sifters.  Most  of  them  are  baskets  collected  in 
the  Sierra  Nevada  region,  and  were  woven  by  Yo-ham-i-ties,  Monos, 
Yokuts  and  Paiutis. 

YOKUT  AND  PIMA  NAMES— On  the  Tule  River  Reservation 
the  bowl  shaped  baskets  are  called  Ku-tsou  and  the  bottle  necks,  Oza. 
The  baskets  of  these  weavers  are  invariably  of  natural  colors,  white, 


258 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


FIG.  348.    ALEUT  BASKETS  IN  THE  FROHMAN  COLLECTION. 


FIG.  348A.    SALLY  BAGS  IN  FROHMAN  COLLECTION. 


APPENDIX.  259 

black  and  red.  The  white  material — squaw  grass,  willow  and  the  like 
— is  all  termed  "ho-put,"  while  the  black,  the  martynia,  is  "mo-noch- 
koot."  The  red  splints  are  made  by  peeling  the  bark  from  the  roots 
of  the  red  bud,  and  are  called  "annup." 

The  Pimia  name  for  a  bowl  basket  is  "wan,"  or  almost  two  sylla 
bles,  thus  "hu-ah."  The  "cat-tail"  is  largely  used  by  these  weavers  as 
the  material  or  core  of  the  inner  coil. 

WATER  BOTTLES — A  Nevada  correspondent  writes  to  me  in  re 
gard  o  the  shape  of  the  water-bottles,  such  as  pictures  in  Figs.  203  and 
222.  Somewhere  I  have  written  that  this  shape  undoubtedly  origin 
ated  in  a  sandy  country  so  that  it  could  be  stuck  in  the  sand  and  be 
thus  kept  upright  when  not  being  carried.  He  says :  "Our  Nevada 
Indians  tell  me  that  it  is  made  in  this  particular  shape  so  that  should  it 
fall  it  will  always  "right"  itself,  thereby  saving  whole  or  part  of  its 
contents.  Water  is  one  of  the  scarcest  things  on  the  Nevada  deserts 
and  every  drop  is  esteemed  precious.  This  shape  basket  is  used  when 
traveling.  For  home  use  they  make  a  flat-bottomed  vessel." 

FROHMAN  COLLECTION— Mrs.  J.  Frohman,  of  Portland, 
Ore.,  is  an  intelligent  collector,  especially  of  the  baskets  of  the  North 
west.  In  her  collection  are  to  be  found  all  the  varieties,  and  the  ac 
companying  engravings  give  some  idea  of  the  scope  of  her  endeavors. 
Fig.  348  shows  a  number  of  Aleut  baskets,  and  Mrs.  Frohman  writes 
as  follows : 

"The  Aleutians  are  from  the  Islands  of  Attu,  Kesega,  Makushin, 
the  most  remote  and  isolated  of  our  possessions.  In  these  little  sea 
girt  islands,  scarcely  more  than  a  stepping-stone  to  Asia,  we  discover 
the  finest  weavers  in  the  world  of  basketry.  The  barabas  or  homes  of 
the  Aleuts  are  sodden  huts,  for  they  are  literally  made  of  sod.  The 
roof  is  gay  with  brilliant  flowers  during  the  long  days  of  their  brief 
summer,  but  in  winter  it  is  inconceivably  damp  and  dreary  in  the  in 
terior  of  the  barabas,  and  it  requires  many  months  of  scanty  light  to 
construct  a  single  basket.  Luxuriant  grass  springs  up  while  the  sun 
shine  lingers,  and  this  is  gathered,  dried  and  split  many  times.  The 
finest  baskets  are  perfectly  round,  having  covers,  holding  about  a  pint, 
and  others  much  larger,  have  no  covers,  are  round  and  not  so  fine. 
The  weave  of  the  small  ones  is  so  fine  as  to  closely  resemble  gros  grain 
silk,  the  number  of  stitches  to  the  square  inch  being  almost  double 
that  of  any  other  Indian  basket.  No  dyes  are  used  and  only  a  little  or 
namentation  of  colored  silk  thread  or  worsted  is  deftly  introduced. 
The  feather  of  the  eagle  is  also  sometimes  interwoven  with  each  stitch. 
Many  of  these  Indians  have  died  off  in  the  last  year  and  only  a  few  of 
a  once  flourishing  tribe  are  left.  Measles  and  whooping  cough  cleaned 
out  entire  villages,  and  Aleutian  Island  baskets  will  soon  be  a  thing  of 
the  past." 

In  Fig.  349  are  seen  a  large  variety  of  Alaska  baskets  in  the  Froh 
man  collection.  They  are  mainly  made  on  Yakutat  Island  and  are  of 
great  beauty.  The  shape  is  unvaried,  being  round,  rarely  flaring,  but 
of  many  sizes.  Spruce  roots  and  grasses  in  the  dull  natural  green  or 
dyed  brown  and  black  were  originally  used.  But  the  Indian  of  to-day 
loves  not  the  labOi  of  securing  her  own  inimitable  dyes,  but  she  does 
love  color,  so  sne  substitutes  the  easily-obtained  aniline  dyes.  Hence 
happy  is  that  present  day  collector  who  can  find  a  basket  of  this  type 


260 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


FIG.    349. 


ALASKAN    BASKETS,    MADE    ON    YAKUTAT    ISLAND,    IN    THE 
FROHMAN  COLLECTION. 


APPENDIX. 


26l 


in  the  original  lovely  old  browns  over  which  the  genuine  connoisseur 
raves  and  rhapsodizes. 

Many  of  these  baskets  are  of  a  small  size,  convenient  for  the  holding 
of  household  or  personal  treasures,  and  they  are  provided  with  lids. 
It  is  a  quaint  conceit  to  place  pebbles  in  a  most  skillfully  constructed 
hiding  place  within  the  lid.  The  rattle  of  these  gives  warning  to  the 
owner  when  any  one  would  purloin  the  treasure. 

The  three  front  baskets  in  Fig.  351  are  highly  prized  specimens  in  the 
Frohman  collection.  The  one  to  the  left  is  a  beautiful  old  Yokut  bot 
tle-neck,  and  the  design  clearly  indicates  a  dance.  The  one  to  the 
right  is  of  the  rattlesnake  design,  and  both  are  bordered  with  quail 
plumes.  The  center  basket  is  a  Klikitat,  known  to  be  75  years  old, 
of  perfect  weave  and  design. 

Fig-  352  shows  several  interesting  old  Haida  hats  similar  to  the 
one  described  on  page  183,  and  pictured  in  Figs.  265  and  266.  These 
are  Potlatch  hats  made  by  the  older  generations  of  the  Haidas,  and 
were  and  still  are  worn  in  dances.  The  making  of  them  is  now  a  lost 
art.  The  present  generation  know  nothing  whatever  of  making  them. 
Each  one  is  painted  with  the  totemic  design  which  represents  the 
tribe  to  which  the  dancer  belongs.  The  two  lower  ones  are  Bella 
Bella  Siwash  hats,  worn  by  British  Columbia  Indians. 

Fig.  353  represents  two  Klikitat  weavers  and  a  number  of  their 
baskets  in  the  Frohman  collection.  Of  this  weave  and  its  people  Mrs. 
Frohman  sends  me  the  following,  which  supplements  the  information 
given  on  page  53 : 

'These  rare  and  beautiful  baskets  are  made  by  the  different  tribes 
belonging  to  the  Shahaptian  linguistic  stock.  The  derivation  is  Sali- 
shan.  Their  habitat  was  along  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  and  its 
tributaries,  from  the  Cascade  Mountains  on  the  west  to  Bitter  Root 
range  on  the  east,  or  what  is  now  eastern  Washington  and  Northern 
Idaho. 

"The  Klikitats  have  been  styled  the  Troquois  of  the  Northwest.' 
They  were  marauders  and  robbers.  The  very  word  Klikitat  means 
robber. 

"Two  of  their  favorite  haunts  in  times  gone  by  were  the  Cascades 
and  The  Dalles  or  long  narrows  of  the  Columbia.  They  were  a  con 
stant  menace  to  the  trappers  and  voyagers  from  the  foundation  of  the 
Pacific  Fur  Co.  in  1811,  and  continued  to  worry  the  pioneers  until  they 
were  subdued  by  the  Yakima  war  of  1856. 

"They  went  down  to  the  ocean  on  the  west,  carrying  the  wild  hemp, 
dried  and  twisted  into  neat  bundles.  This  was  much  sought  after  by 
the  coast  Indians  for  fish  net,  and  they  gladly  gave  in  exchange  their 
wampum  or  dentalia,  a  small  shell  collected  in  those  days  at  Nutka. 
The  wampum  was  the  money  or  circulating  medium,  and  Alexander 
Ross  said  in  1814  three  fathoms  of  it  bought  ten  beaver  skins. 

"When  the  Klikitats  procured  firearms,  bows  and  arrows  were  soon 
out  of  date  and  making  beautiful  arrow  heads  became  a  lost  art. 

"So  also  when  buckets  superseded  baskets,  basket  making  to  them 
became  almost  a  lost  art." 

A  description  of  the  materials  used  is  found  on  pages  76,  77. 

Now  Mrs.  Frohman :  "After  these  preliminaries,  that  ran  through 
weeks  and  months,  were  arranged,  the  weaver  seated  herself  upon  the 


262 


INDIAN    BASKETRY 


FIG.   351.    FINE   YOKUT   BOTTLE-NECK,    KLIKITAT,  HAIDA,    AND   ALEUT   BASKETS 
IN  THE   FROHMAN  COLLECTION. 


FIG.  3f2.     POTLACH  HATS  OF  THE  HA1DAS,    IN  THE  FROHMAN       COLLECTION. 


APPENDIX.  263 

ground  either  by  a  spring  or  stream  and  began  to  work  by  taking  a 
small  bunch  of  these  water-soaked  roots  which,  when  tightly  com 
pressed,  were  about  the  size  of  a  lead  pencil.  She  began  at  the  bottom 
of  a  basket  by  making  a  coil  and  tightly  lashing  it  with  a  soaked  thong 
of  spruce  root,  each  time  piercing  the  stitch  in  the  preceding  row  with 
the  bone  awl,  threading  the  spruce  through,  and  tightly  drawing  it 
in  place.  She  thus  succeeded  in  making  a  lockstitch,  water  tight,  so 
that  if  it  were  possible  to  draw  out  the  coil  the  basket  would  still  pre 
serve  its  shape.  This  coiling  and  whipping  continued  with  the  spruce 
alone  until  the  bottom  was  completed,  for  the  ornamentation  seldom, 
if  ever,  appeared  on  the  bottom.  When  the  last  coil  of  the  bottom  was 
made,  then  the  ornamenting  or  decorating  began.  A  strip  of  the  grass 
was  laid  on  and  lashed  in  place,  then  turned  back  and  lashed  again,  each 
time  being  held  in  place  by  the  all-important  spruce  thong.  This  lap 
ping  back  and  forth  gave  it  the  name  "imbricated."  Every  tin-e  a 
stitch  was  made  it  took  the  circuits  of  the  spruce  whipping  to  hold  it 
in  place,  each  time  following  the  puncture  made  by  the  awl.  This 
renders  it  exceedingly  hard  work,  one  round  of  a  large  basket  or  three 
of  a  small  one  being  considered  a  hard  day's  labor  for  an  experienced 
basket  maker. 

"The  figures  of  the  designs  are  always  triangular  or  angular,  never 
round,  in  the  original  shapes,  as  to  the  Klikitats  the  circular  figure 
mean  civilization.  The  baskets  are  always  round  and  are  carried 
on  women's  backs  by  a  broad  strap  passed  around  the  forehead  or 
across  the  chest.  When  gathering  berries  the  woman  throws  them 
over  her  shoulder  into  the  basket.  The  Indians  say  the  berries  keep 
sweeter  in  these  baskets,  and  as  they  are  water  tight  there  is  no  loss  of 
juice." 

On  Clatsop  Plains,  in  Oregon,  there  resides  Mrs.  Machelle,  the  last 
of  the  Clatsop  tribe,  nearly  100  years  old,  who  still  occupies  herself  in 
weaving  baskets.  Says  Mrs.  Frohman,  in  speaking  of  her  work: 
"One  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  rare  and  skillful  combination 
of  beauty  and  utility  in  these  baskets,  and  their  wonderful  adaptability 
to  the  Indians'  various  needs.  The  dwellers  of  the  North  Coast  ob 
tain  their  food  from  the  sea,  so  the  weavers  make  a  loosely  woven 
cedar  bark  receptacle  for  their  fish,  both  fresh  and  dried.  The  open 
mesh  of  the  clam-basket,  of  a  coarse  grass,  permits  the  sea  water  to 
escape  as  the  weary  digger  trails  home  across  the  sands  at  dawn." 

Another  of  the  weaves  that  is  growing  rarer  as  the  years  go  by  is 
that  of  the  Skokomish,  barely  referred  to  on  page  53.  These  Wash 
ington  weavers  have  gradually  decreased  in  number  until  new  the 
tribe  is  almost  extinct.  A  fine  specimen  in  the  National  Museum  is  pic 
tured  in  Fig.  78,  and  in  Fig.  354  are  four  others  in  the  Frohman  col 
lection.  On  all  of  these  specimens  will  be  noticed  what  might  almost 
be  called  the  sign  manual  of  the  Skokomish,  viz.,  the  circle  of  dogs  on 
the  upper  part  of  the  basket.  No  matter  what  other  design  is  incor 
porated  into  their  work,  this  symbol  invariably  is  used  at  the  top. 
This  fact  opens  up  an  interesting  field  for  investigation  which  it  is  to 
be  hoped  some  local  enthusiast  will  later  explore. 

Of  the  few  good  Skokomish  weavers  left,  Sarah  Curly  is  said  to  be 
the  best,  and  she  will  work  only  when  the  weather  is  damp  and  rainy, 
as  she  says  otherwise  her  grasses  crack  and  split. 


2^4  INDIAN    BASKETRY. 

Fig".  355  shows  several  fine  Thompson  River  baskets,  similar  to 
those  described  on  pages  79  and  147.  These  are  interesting  specimens, 
varying  in  shape  and  design,  but  all  useful  and  attractive. 

GATHERING  INFORMATION— Those  who  are  interested  in 
the  preservation  of  accurate  knowledge  of  Indian  baskets  and  their 
weavers  can  do  good  service  in  their  respective  localities  by  recording 
such  particulars  as  the  following  blank  calls  for,  verifying  the  answers 
given  by  one  weaver  by  comparison  with  those  given  by  others.  Only 
by  persistent  endeavor  can  reliable  information  be  obtained.  The 
blank  is  one  prepared  and  sent  out  by  Professor  Mason,  of  the  Smith 
sonian  Institution,  to  whom  lovers  of  basketry  owe  so  much. 

BASKET  WORK  OF  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

Tribe ,  Location  of  Tribe 

Plsint, 

Scientific   name    , 

Common  name    

Indian  name  

How  prepared  

How  woven  

Legend 

Specimen  in  Collection  of 


FIG.  354.     SKOKOMISH  BASKETS  IN   FROHMAN   COLLECTION. 

In  addition  to  these  particulars  I  always  endeavor  to  obtain  the 
name,  Indian  and  American,  of  the  weaver,  and  her  photograph  where 
possible,  either  while  weaving  the  basket  or  when  it  is  completed. 
This  photograph  should  always  include  the  material  used  and  the  tools, 
and  the  actual  processes  of  weaving.  For  instance,  the  Hopi  weavers 
invariably  place  their  splints  in  a  blanket  full  of  moist  sand,  in  order 
to  keep  them  pliable.  It  adds  much  to  the  scientific  value  of  the  pho- 
to?rir>1i  if  this  sand  blanket  is  shown. 


APPENDIX. 


265 


266 


INDIAN    BASKETRY. 


Then,  too,  the  greatest  care  should  be  exercised  in  obtaining  the 
tribal  name  of  the  weaver.  The  Yokuts  have  a  number  of  sub-tribal 
names,  and  one  is  apt  to  get  confused,  unless  he  is  persistent  in  ques 
tioning  and  requestioning,  directly  and  indirectly,  on  this  particular. 

Under  the  head  of  "How  Prepared,"  much  valuable  information  can 
often  be  obtained.  The  gathering  of  the  material  as  described  by  Dr. 
Hudson  on  pages  80-8 1 ;  the  stripping  of  the  bark,  or  splitting  up  of  the 
willow,  how  done,  and  a  description  of  the  tools  used,  if  any,  (see  page 
85) ;  the  dyeing  processes  for  the  different  colors,  especially  where  na 
tive  dyes  and  processes  are  followed ;  the  materials  used  in  the  ex 
traneous  decoration  of  such  baskets  as  the  "moon"  and  "sun"  baskets 
of  the  Pomas ;  all  these  legitimately  come  under  that  head. 

Then,  too,  careful  attention  to  the  methods  of  weaving  may  often  re 
veal  interesting  facts.  I  am  told  that  there  are  three  different  methods 
of  procuring  the  "herring-bone"  or  braided  finishing  stitch  of  the 
Navaho  wedding  basket.  Some  use  three  splints,  others  two,  and  still 
others  but  orte,  and  yet  to  the  casual  observer  there  is  not  the  slightest 
perceptible  difference  in  the  result. 

The  importance  of  gaining  the  weaver's  own  interpretation  of  the 
legend  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized.  A  short  time  ago  a  friend 
purchased  a  beautiful  basket  and  brought  it  to  me  in  New  York.  She 
knew  the  weaver  well,  a  Cahuilla  Indian,  the  wife  of  Juan  Costello, 
but  had  not  herself  secured  the  meaning  of  the  design.  At  her  sug 
gestion  I  wrote  to  a  gentleman,  who  kindly  visited  the  camp  for  the 
purpose  of  gaining  the  information.  I  quote  his  reply  in  full  as  an 
interesting  confirmation  of  what  I  have  before  written :  "My  ques 
tions  of  the  Indians  at  the  time  of  the  receipt  of  your  letter  happened 
to  be  directed  to  an  old  woman  at  Juan's  camp,  who,  I  thought,  was 
the  maker.  She,  who  was  his  mother,  told  me,  through  Juan's  inter 
pretation,  that  it  was  patterned  after  some  rock  form  on  the  desert  side 
of  the  San  Jacinto  Mountains ;  it  is  doubtful  if  she  understood  my 
query  or  I  her  answer.  To-day  I  went  to  the  camp  and  did  my  best 
to  learn  from  Juan's  wife,  by  the  use  of  my  limited  Spanish  and  the 
chary  use  of  English  of  her  little  girl,  more  about  it,  expecting  the 
same  information.  She  drew  figures  upon  the  ground  of  the  leaves  of 
what  she  called  'mescal/  idealized,  for  they  did  not  have  the  broad 
base  and  point  of  the  plant  she  referred  to.  I  called  her  attention  to 
some  plants  along  a  road  we  knew,  the  Agua  Americana,  four  of  which 
are  just  now  maturing  gigantic  flower  stalks,  and  this  plant  was  what 
she  meant,  and  the  girl,  said  her  mother,  not  the  grandmother,  made 
the  basket  you  refer  to.  It  is  a  little  odd,  isn't  it,  that  they  apply  the 
name  of  the  distilled  product  of  the  juice,  'pulque/  to  the  whole  plant, 
but  'mescal'  was  the  name  used  for  it.  You  can  take  your  choice  of 
the  answers  obtained,  but  I  think  the  leaves  of  what  we  call  the  'Cen 
tury  plant'  was  the  model  for  her  design." 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  proper  interpretation,  as  "mescal"  is  the 
word  commonly  applied  by  all  the  Indians  of  the  Southwest  to  this 
plant,  also  to  a  food  which  they  prepare  from  the  cooked  leaf  fibres. 


INDEX 


Page. 
A 

Achindi    Ill 

Acomas     89 

Acorn     Sifter 144 

Acorn    Storehouses 186 

Agave    158 

Agua    Americana 269 

Agua    Caliente 61,    211,  213 

(See  Warner's  Ranch.) 

Agua   Caliente  Baskets 60,   213,  215,   216 

Alaska   Indians 50,   123 

Alaska   Baskets 52,    77,    212 

Aleuts 50,    75,    258,    261 

American  Anthropologist 187,   232,   234 

American    Museum    of    Nat.    History,    63, 

167,    218,   234. 
Amole  (See  Yucca) 84,  85 

Angola  Carrying  Basket 183.  184 

Antelope  Altar,  etc 94,  175,  213,  215 

Antiquity  of  Baskets 13 

Apaches,  50,  59,  61,  63,  72,   107,  110,  116,  135. 

160,   166,   172,  175,  213,   214. 
Apache  Baskets,  32,  76,  85,  106,  129,  135,  157, 

166,    173,    177,    204,    209,    211,    214,    244,    245 

Apache  Medicine  Basket 37,  109 

Apache    Designs 218 

Apocynum 160 

Arapaho     185 

Arikara 153,     155 

Arrow     Feathers 238 

Arrow  Points 174,  179,  215,  239,   241 

Artifact    Designs 215 

Ashochimi    57 

Athaatlo    37 

Athapascan 59,    72,    157,    167 

Attu   Island 50,   261 

Awl     ...85 


Baby  Cradles 23,  146,  149,  150,  151,  2€5 

Balfour,  Mr.  Henry 200 

Bamboo    74 

Bam-tca    Weave 103 

Bam-tsu-wu  Weave 102,  103    104 

Bam-tush  Weave 95,  96,  97,  101 

Basketry  in   Indian   Ceremonial 33 

Legend 22 

of  the   Northwest 77 

the   Mother  of   Pottery 17 

the    Work    of    Women 14 

Basket    Church ; 186 

Forms 119   et   seq.,    145,    210 

Making  People 50  et  seq. 

Symbolism 187  et    seq. 

Baskets   to   be   Prized , 224 

Battle    Design 216 

Bat    Woman 24 

Bat  Design 217,   222 

Beads     74 

Bear    Design 212 

Bee  Design 211 

Bella  Bella  Si  wash  Hats 263 

Bellota     255 

Benham   Coll 241  et  seq. 

Bibliography  232 

Big    Meadows 238,    239 

Bilhoolas    183 

Bird-cage  Weave 156,   181 

Bird    Design 141,   142,    183,    211,    215 

Blank   to   Fill   up 267 

Boas,    Dr.    Franz 72 

Boiling  Baskets 162,  163 

Bottle-neck  Baskets 189 

Bourke,  Capt.  J.  G 218 

Braided  Border  Stitch 250,  269 

Brake   Design 212,    213,    237 


Page. 
British  Columbia  Indians.... 51,  53,  147,  263 

Buchanan,  Charles  M 189 

Bullrushes    80 

Burden  Baskets  (see  Carrying  B.) 

Burnell    Collection 64 

Bush    Design 212 

Butterfly  Design 211,   250 

G 

Cabazon    61 

Cactus    75 

Caddoan  Indians 153,  155 

Cahrocs 53,  100 

Cahuilla  41,  61,   64,   89,   157,   206,  210,  241,   242, 
269. 

Baskets,  60,  71,  73,  145,  172,  173,  174, 
190,    211.    212,   215,   216,    217,    222. 

Calfee,   Miss   Frances   S 67 

California  Baskets,  74,  117,  118,  119,  129    139 

140,  144,  151,  159,  190,  248  et  seq. 
Campbell  Coll.... 21,  59,  80,  107,  207,  211,  213, 
224. 

Campo 61 

Cape    Flattery bi,    185 

Capitan  Grande 61 

Carr,  Mrs.  Jeanne  C 14,  88,  105,  149 

Cardium   Corbis 90 

Carex   Mendocinoensis 80 

Carrier  Indians 157 

Carroll,  A.  W.  De  La  Cour 209,  251 

Carying   Basket 145,    185,    259 

Mats 163,   165,   166 

Nets 158 

Cascade  Mtns 79,   S3 

Cascades    263 

Cat-tail    80 

Caulking    74 

Cayuses  79 

Cedar 79,   80,   149 

Century  Plant  Design 269 

Cercis    Occidentalis 75,    83 

Ceremonials    33 

Chaco    Canyon 25 

Channing,  Grace  Ellery 146,  225 

Chemehuevis 50,   66,   67,   212 

Cherokees    91 

Cheyennes    93 

Chevelon    63 

Chilcotin     79 

Chinooks     51 

Chippa 75,    83 

Choctaws 154,   155 

Christ   and   Apostles   Basket 249 

Chuc-chances   59 

Clallams Ill,  125,  155-6,  178,  181,  183,  184 

Clam   Shells 90 

Clatsop     Weaver 266 

Clay  Vessels 18 

Clement,    Mrs 91 

Cloud   Design ...213,    239 

Cohn,    Mr.    A 250 

Coiled  Weaves  (see  Weaves) 

Coles,  Mrs.  S.  C 193 

Collecting    251 

Collector,   Hints  to 230 

Collections 

Benham   (See). 
Campbell,  W.  D.  (see) 
Frohman  (See). 
Hill   (See). 
James,    G.   W.    (see) 

Mabley,  Miss  Kate 11 

McLeod 188,  210,  224 

Plimpton,   F.   S.    (see) 

Salsberry,    Mrs.    N.    J 190 

Wainwright,    Dr.    C.    C 221 

Wilcomb 100.  224 


258 


INDEX   (CONTINUED). 


Page. 

Colors,     Accursed 95 

Colors  in  Baskets 88,  124,  130 

Congo    Basket 161-2 

Conventionalization    197 

Corn   Leaf   Design 213 

Coronado 61,    166 

Costello,     Juan 269 

Coville,    F.    V 85,   158 

Cowlitz   (see   Kowlitz) 

Cradles..... 146,   149,   150,   151 

Cradle     249 

Crescent   City 53 

Cross 192,   200,   209,   210,   216 

Curly,   Sarah 267 

Curio,  The,  Phoenix 280 

Curtis,  Rev.  W.  C 1«9 

Cushing,   F.   H.,  17,  19,  61,  120,  121,  163,  187, 
191,  197,  203,  204,  224. 

Cuyama    249 

Cuyapipe    61 


Dah-lah    101 

Dalea    Emoryi 84 

Polyadenia    84 

Dalles,  The.. 263 

Dat-so-la-le....62,   115,   116,    209,   212,    215,   247 

Death  Valley 85,  158 

Decadence  of  the  Art 226 

Deer  Designs 210,  212 

De   la   Cour   Corroll ..  251 

Designs,   113,    130,    131,    174,   187   et   seq.,    206, 
234,  240,  241,  247,  269. 

Diverse    meanings    of 206 

Mixed    216 

Poetic 217    et.    seq. 

Diamond    Design 212,    215 

Dice    Baskets 185 

Dieguinos 61,  159,  161 

Difficulties  in  Collecting 251 

Diggers    57 

Dixon,  R.  B 187,  211,  212,  213,  234,  240 

Dragon  Fly  Design 211 

Dsiltlani   24 

Duck's  Wing  Design 211,   235 

Dyes 88  et.  seq. 

E 

Earthworm   Design 234,   235 

Echinocactus    85 

Eel  River 55,  170,  171 

Egyptian    Baskets Ill 

Elk   Design 212 

Elymus   Triticoides 79 

Emporium,  Carson  City,  Nev 250 

Eskimo 15,    167,    169 

Evening    Lamp 187 

Everybody's   Magazine 257 

Evolution    of    Art 200 

Eye    Design 236 

F 

Farrand,  Livingstone,  187,  189,  200,  210,  211, 

212,  215,  216. 

Fear  in  Designs 241 

Feather  Design 238 

Feathers 74,  90,  104,  138,  139 

"       Dance    and    Chant 27 

Fence  Design 216 

Fern  Design 210,   211,   212,   237 

Fewkes,  Dr  J.  W 42,  44,  63,  187,  247 

Field  Columbian  Museum 225 

Fir    79 

Fish,    Weir 146,    147 

Fish  Trap  Design 179 

Fish  Design 212,  215,  234 

Flonhos    55 

Flounder  Design 215 


Page. 

Flower  Design 211,  212,  237 

Fly    Design 211 

Forehead   Pad 155 

Fort    Tejon 251 

Foster    162 

Fresno   River 59 

Fresno    Indians 254 

Fret  Design 244 

Fret  (See  Greek) 

Frohman  Coll 258  et  seq. 

Function  of  Baskets   (See  Uses) 


Gallinuomers    57 

Garotero  Apaches 175,  177 

Gathering   Crates 159 

Wands 156,  179 

Gathering    Information 267 

Geese   Design 211,   235 

Geometric  Design 195,  201 

Ghost    Dance 93 

Granaries 144,    168,    186 

Grasshopper  Design 236 

Greek  Fret 116,  199,  201,  202,  203 

Grosse   200 

Gualalas 53,    57 


Hadruya  83 

Haidas....50,  51,  111,  128,  181,  183,  185,  262,  263 

Hariot   147 

Hartt's  Theories 199,  201,  202,  203 

Harvesting  Wand 179,  181 

Hasjelti    Dailjis 33 

Hats 178,    183,    185 

"H.    H." 220 

Havasupais,   17,  29,  39,   50,   61,   72,  73,   85,  89, 
109,  116,  120,  121,  157,  158,  162,  165,  166,  167, 

203,  205,  206,  208,  209,  215,  230,  250. 
Havasupai   Baskets,   39,  41,   83,   84,   120,   212, 

213. 

Havasupai  Legends 29,  30 

Havasupai    (Yumans) 8 

Hazel 79,     96 

Head  Bands 154,  155 

Heart  Baskets 188,   193 

Heat   Wave   Design 215 

Hemp   79 

Herring  Bone   Finish 109,   250,   269 

Hill    Collection 256,    259 

Hill,    Thomas 47 

Hints  to  Collector 230 

Hints  to  Collectors 276 

Hoapuh    28 

Hoddentin    113 

Hodge,  F.  W 113,  234 

Holder,   C.   F 84 

Holmes,    W.   H.,   18,   119   et.    seq.,   170,   187, 

204,  211. 

Homolobi     44 

Hoochnoms 170,    171 

Hopi,  50,  59,  61,  73,  74,  84,  85,  88,  89,  94,  112, 

114,  120,  126,  135,  137,  141,  153,  155,  161,  162, 

164,   175,   194,   211,   213,   215. 
Hopi   Baskets,   38,  39,   40,   63,   65,   83,   84,   108, 

113,  114,  120,  140,  142,  152,  153,  161,  162,  172, 

210,  244,  246,  259. 

Hopi    Legends 28 

Hopi   Snake  Dance 42 

Hopland    80 

Ho-put   259 

Hu-ah   259 

Hudson,  J.  W.,  55,  80,  89,  96,  97,  98,  99,  101, 

102,  103,  105,  156,  191,  206,  213,  225,  227,  247, 

251,  259. 

Hugo,    Victor 196 

Human  Figures 131,  140,  188,  210 

Hupas 53,   72.  79.   Ibl,  155,   157 


INDEX    (CONTINUED). 


269 


Page. 

Idaho    Baskets 77 

Ideograph*     196 

Imbricated    Weave 266 

Imitation 192,    197,    198,    213 

Indian   Hemp 80 

Interlacing-    Strands 130 

Inyo  Co 209 


Jackson,  James 13,  75 

James,  G.  W 145,  190 

Japan  75 

Jattalouisa  107 

Judas    249 

Juncus    84 

K 

Kabiapeks  57 

Kah-hoom 80,  83,  89 

Kah-lal  80 

Karok  53,  100 

Katchina  244 

Kathak  162,  179,  259 

Kauiags  51 

Kaweah 57,  59 

Kawawohl  146 

Ka-win  90 

Kern  59 

Kern  Co.  Weavers 247,  250 

Kern  River 250 

Kernville  251 

Kesega  261 

Kiah  83 

King's  River 59 

Kinniki  26 

Kiamaths  53 

Baskets 77,  127,  138,  169 

Klikitats....53,  76,  89,  100,  189,  202,  263,  266 
Kohonino  (See  Havasupai) 39,  44,  89 

Basin  31 

Ko-kyan-wuh-ti  42 

Konkau  237 

Kowlitz  53 

Kuchyeampsi  109,  112 

Ku-tsou  ..259 


Lakone  Manas 43 

Lalakonti 42  et.  seq. 

Lake  Design 160,   210,   211,   214,   215 

Las    Cruces 63 

Leaf    Design 213 

Legends 22  et.  seq. 

Light  Ascending  Design 215 

Lightning  Design. ..  .38,   39,  160,  206,  213,  241 

Lillooet  Indians 79,  149 

Lit    Weave 99 

Lolonkuhs  55 

Lone  Pine 209 

Los    Coyotes 59 

Lucero,    Pedro 206 

Luisenos 59,   61 

Lummis    Indians 53 

M 

Machelle,    Mrs 266 

MacMurray 22,   93 

Maiden  Hair  Fern  (See  Fern).... 82,  83,  212 

Maidu    57,   187,   211,    234 

Majal,    Gregoria 105 

Makahs 51,   179,   181,    182,   183,   184 

Makhelchels    57 

Makushin     261 

Mallery,    G 90 

Mamzrau   46 

Maricopas 50,  61,  63,  85,  116,  166 


Page 

Martynia 72,  85,  107 

Mashonganavi 42,  112,  244,  247,  259 

Mason,  Otis  T.    13,  73,  80,  85,  88,  96,  97    101 

102,  118,  126,  143,  161,  169,  172,  267. 

Matthews,  Washington 23,  33,  37,  110 

Materials  Used 72  et.   seq. 

Mattoals    55 

Mayas    93 

McArthur,    H.    K 77 

McCloud  River  Baskets,  73,  136,  152,  155,  156 
McLeod  Collection.. 188,  210,  224,  247  et  seq. 

Mendocino  Co.   Indians 79,  80 

Menominis 67  et.  seq.,  93 

Mesa   Grande 59 

Mehesey,   E.,   Jr.'s   Store 277,   278,   279 

Mescal     Design 269 

Mescalero  Apaches 50,  61,  63,  107,  215 

Mexican  Work ...137,  138 

Milky  Way 220 

Mil-lay 82,   83,   89 

Millipede   Design 236 

Mission  Indians 50,  59,  158,  160,  161 

Miwoks 57,    151 

Mobi    85 

Modoks 57,  100,  149,  151 

Mohaves 160,   161 

Moki  (See  Hopi). 

Molson,  Mrs.  V.  P 76 

Monachi    Weavers 251 

Mo-noch-koot  259 

Monos  50,  54,  73,  208,  251,  252  et  seq. 

Mooney  91 

Mooney   Fall 31 

Mooreto wn    237 

Mordants 88,  89 

Morongo   61 

Mountain  Design,  160,  211,  212,  213,  214,  215, 

239,  244,  257. 

Mountain   Grass    83 

Mountain  Meadows 251 

Muckleshoots   53 

Murdoch    167 

Mush  Basket 97 

N 

Natano  (Hupas) 157 

National   Museum 162,    !»,*,    167,    170 

Natinesthani   26 

Natural  Designs 213 

Navahoes,  50,  63,  72,  91,  94,  109,  110,  112,  120, 

160,   162,  167. 
Navahoes  Ceremonials 33  et.  seq.,  94 

Legends 23  et.  seq. 

Navahoes    Sacred   Baskets,   32,   33,    34,   214, 
215,  250. 

Wedding 35,    109 

Net  Design  (See  Reda) 215 

New  vs.   Old   Baskets 251 

New  York  Central  Ry.  Advt 275 

Nez  Perces 79,  93 

Nishinam     57 

Niskwallis  53 

Nolasquez,    Merced 60 

North  Coast  Basketry 97,  132,  138 

Nubian  Basket Ill 

Nu-cha-a-wai-i   59 

Nutka...  51,   179 


Oraibi 42,  63,  84,  112,  114,  135 

Oraibi  Baskets,  65,  87,  112,  113,  114,  136,  137, 
140,  142,  152,  153,   244,  246,  259. 

Oregon    Baskets 76 

Ornamentation  125 

Oryzopsis   Membr 158 

Osier 74,    75 

Owakulti    44 

Oza   .  ..259 


270 


INDEX    (CONTINUED). 


Page. 
P 

Pabichi    107 

Pad-dit   84 

Painted   Desert 72 

Paiuti,  50,  57,  59,  61,  72,  85,  107,  109,  110,  111, 
112,  115,  116,  153,  156,  157,  158,  160,  162,  167, 
175,  177,  178,  179,  180,  181,  209,  210,  234,  241, 
246,  250. 

Paiuti  Mntn.,   Kern  Co.,   Cal 249 

Paiuti  Water  Bottle 33,  112,  160 

Palms  74 

Pan-American  Exposition 241 

Panamint  Indians 85,  158 

Panian   Stock 155 

Papago 50,    84 

Patawats   55 

Pattern   (See  Design) 

Patwin    57 

Pauma 59,  105,  186 

Peach  Springs 72 

Pendants  on  Baskets 129 

Pepper,  G.  H 36 

Peruvian  Basket 124,  126,  131,  ]S9 

Phallic  Sign 216 

Phoenix  63 

Photographs    of    Weavers 267 

Pimas,  50,  61,  63,  85,  116,  134,  163,  172,  215,  241, 

243,   244,  246,   259. 

"      Baskets,  32,  76,  84,  117,  133,  Iu4,  175,  176, 
214,    215. 

Pine  Design 212,  237 

"      Roots,  etc 84,  159 

Pitt  River  Indians 57 

Plant  Design 212 

Plimpton  Coll.,  32,  52,  56,  75,  78,  92  106,  117, 
188,  192,  206,  224. 

Poems  in  Baskets 187 

Point  rJarrow 167 

Point  Belcher 167 

Pokagon,    Simon 89 

Poma,   53,   55,   80,   89,   90,   96,   S>8,  -99,   102,   103, 

104,   105,   156,   179,   210. 

Poma  Baskets,  56,  78,  80,  94,  95,  97,,  98,  99, 
100,  101,  102,  103,  104,  148,  150,  156,  213,  214, 
247. 

Poma  Designs 210  et.  seq. 

Pond  Design 212,  215 

Pop.   Sc.   Monthly 201 

Potlach    Hats 262 

Potrero    59 

Pottawattomies     ?9 

Potter  Valley 55 

Pottery  and  Basketry 17,  120 

Powell,  J.  W 153 

Powers,  Stephen 53,  59,  90,  170 

Prehistoric  Basket-makers 13 

Races    162 

Primus  dem 79 

Pshu-kan 94,    96 

Pteris  Aquilina 237 

Pueblo  Art 135 

Carrying  Mats 163,  165 

Pottery   120 

Sleeping  Mat 120 

Puget   Sound 53 

Puyullups    53 

Pyramid  Lake  Indians 151,  152 

Q 

Qastceyelci  110 

Quail  Design 210,  211,  235,  247,  257 

Queen  Charlotte  Islands 51 

Quinaielt 51,  191,  236 

R 

Raccoon  Design 236 

Rainbow    Design 215 

Rain  Clouds 160,  214,  215 

Ramona   220 

Rattlesnake   Design,    59,    201,    206,    210,    241, 
254,  257,  259,  263. 


Page. 

Reda 146,  158,  160,  215,  216 

Reindeer   Design 212 

Redbud 75,   82,  83,   84 

Red    Rock 63 

Reticulated   Weave 128 

Rhus 74,  80,   82,  84,  107 

Rincon  59 

Roasting   Tray 180 

Russian    River 80 

S 

Saboba,  49,  61,  145,  186,  206,  210,  212,  214,  216, 
217,  218. 

Saboba  Legends 218 

Salish 51,  o3,   181,   187,  198,  206,   207,   208 

Designs 210   et.   seq. 

Salmon  River 53 

Salsberry,  Mrs.  N.  J 190 

Salix 85,    99 

San  Carlos  Apaches 63,  107,  116 

San   Felipe 59 

'San    Jacinto    Mntn 269 

San  Luis  Rey 59 

Santa   Rosa 61 

Ysabel 61,  186 

Sau  vis     75 

Saxidomus    Gracilis 90 

Scirpus    82 

Scrolls    199 

Seymour,    Allen 46 

Seed   Baskets 156 

Seed    Wands 156 

Se-eel    84 

Se-e-let     84 

Seminole  Baskets 115,  126 

Serpent    Design 212 

Shahaptian  53,  93,  263 

Shamans    210 

Shastas    79,   89 

Shaveheads    .'  261 

Shimopavi 42,  112 

Shipapu 37,'  110 

Shipauluvi 42,    94,    112 

Shoshonean   157,   160    241 

Shi-Bu  Weave,  97,  100,  101,  103,  104,  211,  247 
24*. 

Shi-lo  Weave 103 

Shi-tsin    102 

Shu-ba    96 

Shu-set  Weave 98,  101 

Sia  Basket 84 

Siam 74,  154 

Siamese    Baskets 153 

Sidaru    167 

Sierra    Nevada 53 

Siwash    218 

Slough    v^rass 80 

Skagits  53 

Skokomish    53,    264,    267 

Smohalla  93 

Snake  Dance 30  et.  seq.,  59 

Maidens    30 

Snake    (See  Rattlesnake) 

Snake   Design 241 

Snohomish 53,  83 

Soap- weed    75 

Southern  Pacific  Co 251 

South  Sea  Islands 241 

Spanish  Bayonet 75 

Influences   119 

Spider-web  Design 113,  211 

Spider  Woman 29,  39 

Sporobulus 75,   84 

Spruce  Root 74,   79 

Squaxin    53 

Squaw  Grass 76,  77 

Squaw    Weed 86 


INDEX    (CONTINUED). 


271 


Page. 

St.    Andrew's    Cross 250 

Star  Design 215,  216,  220 

Stevenson,  Dr.  James 162,  166 

Stiletto   85 

Stitches   (See  Weaves). 

Stream  Design 213,   214,   215 

Sueda   Diff  usa 84 

Sulim    84 

Sumach 82,  85 

Sunset   Mag 251 

Surface  Effects 126 

Swamp    Ash 75 

Swctstina 63,    116,    175,    214,    244 

Sycuan    61 

Symbolism,  114,  187  et.  seq.   (See  Designs) 


Tatus    55 

Tawapa   42 

Teit 72,    79,    147,    193,    206 

Tehachipi     57 

Tejon,   Fort 57,   59,   61 

Temecula 59,  158,  160 

Tenaskots    53 

Tennessee  Pottery 129 

Tlinkits    50,    79 

Thuja   Gigantea 79 

Thompson  River  Indians,  51,  72,  79,  80,  100, 
147,  149,  193,  200,  206,  208,  210,  264,  267. 

Thunder  Bird 247 

Ti  Weave 96,  97,  101 

Tierra  del   Fuego 75 

Timpekah   101 

Tinne 72,    167 

Tiyo    28 

Tochopa    31 

Tolowas    b3 

Torres    61 

Trail    Design 216,    239 

Traveler,  The 46,   145,  187 

Tree   Design 212 

Trinity    River 53 

Tsai    Weave 102,    103,    104 

Tsa-wam    Weave 103 

Tsu-wish  82,  83 

Tulares 50,    209 

Baskets 57,  59,  200,  209,  211 

Tularosa  63 

Tule  River  Reservation,  57,  59,  84,  133,  144, 
201,  228,  249. 

"      Root 82,    85 

Tusayan   (See   Hopi) S5 

Tusjeh     112,    160,    259 

Twenty-nine    Palms 61 


Page. 

Walpi 42,  94,  162 

Wampum 83,   90 

Wanamaker    Collection 257 

VVappos  57 

Warm    Springs   Indians 267 

Warner's   Ranch 59 

Wascos 79.     1^9 

Washoes,  50    61,  115,  116,  157,  159,  214,  248,  250 

Washington  Weavers 54,  55,  79 

Water  Bottles 27,  33,  160,  161,  259 

(See   Tusjen  and   Havasupai.) 

Water  Designs 212,  213,   215 

Wave    Designs 212 

Wawona 259 

Weaves 72,  96  et.  seq. 

Weaves,    Barn-Tea 103 

Bam-Tsu- Wu 103,    104 

Barn-Tush 95,    96 

Coiled 132,    162,    163 

Diagonal    123 

Fineness  of 105,  10V,  115 

Herring   Bone 109 

Lit    99 

Pshu-Kan 94,   og 

Pshu-tsin    96 

Reticulated    128 

Shi-bu   97,  104 

Shi-lo    103 

Shi-tsin    102 

Shu-set    98,    99 

Simple    122 

Ti    96,  97,   98,  99 

Tsai  103,  104 

Twined    123 

Wrapped   161 

Whirlwind    Design 203,    205 

White  Mtn.  Apaches 50,  61,  63,  107,  116 

Wi-chum-na 59,     208 

Wilcomb    Coll 100 

Willamette  Valley 77 

Willows 72,  75,  77,  80,  83,  84,  's5,"99 

Wilson,    Dr 175,   214 

Winnemucca    no 

Wintims    57 

Wiyots    55 

Women's    Work ifj 

Wood    Basket 148 

Worm    Track   Design 211 

Wright,  Mary  Irvin 69 

Wu-u-shi 85,    112 


Xerophyllum    ...76 


Ukiah    55 

'  n-     79 

Unicorn    Plant 85 

Uses  of  Baskets,  121  et.  seq.,  145  et.  seq., 

164. 
Ute  Baskets,  84,  98,  151,  152,  160,  178,  179,  213. 

Uuyot    218 

Valley  Designs 160,   212,   214,   215 

Vegetable  Design 212 

Viards    56 

Vllfa  75,  84 

Vine    Design 212 

Maple    75 

W 

Wah    259 

Wailakki    55 

Wainwright   Coll 221 

Weitspek    53 

Wallapai 50,  67,  72,  206,   214 

Baskets   66 


Yakima 22,   53,  93,   121.   263 

Yakutat  Baskets 260,  261 

Yeitso    .'". '..24 

Yo-al-man-i    59 

Yo-er-kal-i    ...!.*!  !.69 

Yokaias 55,    153,    156 

Yokuts,  50,  53,  57,  59,  61,  84,  107,  138    179    206 

208,  228,  247,  259,  261,  267. 
Yokut  Baskets,  32,  58,  59.   61,   64,   80,  82,  92 

133,   139,  170,   171,  188,   192,  209,  210. 

Yolo   Basket 45,   47 

Yosemite    '.  .47 

Yucca 74,  75,  76,  84,  85,  165,  213 

Yuki    55     239 

Yuman ".159,    i6i 

Yuroks   53,  84,  100 


Zunis,  bl,  89,  93,  94,  114,  115,  120,  149,  159,  161. 

162,  172,  173,  191,  197,  220. 
Zigzag  Design 218 


SUNSET  ROUTE 

SAN  FRANCISCO       *       NEW  ORLEANS 

OCEAN 

..TO.. 

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TWO   VESTIBULED  TRAINS 

EACH    WAY    DAILY. 

..HEAVY    RAILS. 


AND 

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MISSIONS,  ORCHARDS,  MIRAGES,  AZTEC  RUINS,  FRONTIER  FORTS, 
COTTON    FIELDS,    RICE   FIELDS,    SUGAR   PLANTATIONS,    AND 

100  Miles   Beside  the  Sea 
a 

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Folders  of  Agents. 

SOUTHERN  PACIFIC 


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